Hit and Run
by PattiL61
Summary: CHAPTER 26 (CONCLUSION) UP 11/2/02. The End.
1. Chapter 1

Hit and Run By: PattiL61  
  
The shift started out normal enough. Just the usual car accidents and cardiac calls. Alex and Kim had just finished their dinner break with Sully and Davis and were standing outside the diner talking as the sun set and it grew dark. Alex and Davis were discussing plans to meet up after work and Sully and Kim were just talking about nothing, rolling their eyes at the obvious attraction between Ty and Alex.  
  
"Central to Adam 55-3. Take a call for an unknown medical problem at Sutton and 105th, Apartment 13J."  
  
"That's us Alex," said Kim as she reached for the radio to answer the call. "Central, Adam 55-3, show us en route to that call. Any more information?"  
  
"Negative, Adam 55-3. Caller just stated that his elderly mother was sick and he didn't know what was wrong," came the reply from the dispatcher.  
  
"10-4," replied Kim as Alex started the rig and flipped on the lights and siren.  
  
Sully started to get into the RMP and noticed that Ty was following the route of the ambulance with his eyes. "Hey - Junior. Care to get back to work?"  
  
"Huh? Oh yeah," he said with a puzzled look on his face. "What's the matter with you? Didn't get to give her a kiss bye-bye," teased Sully. Davis just made a face at Sully and said, "No. I just got a weird feeling as they left for that call." He tried to shrug it off.  
  
No stranger to gut feelings, Sully asked, "So, you wanna head in the direction of their call? Just to make sure?"  
  
"Yeah, as long as we're going that way anyway," said Ty, silently thanking Sully for understanding.  
  
55-Charlie was headed to the location of Kim and Alex's call when they were detoured to another call, "Central to 55-Charlie. Take a domestic dispute at Union and 125th."  
  
Sully and Davis both let out a sigh at the same time. They both hated domestic calls. "10-4, Central. 55-Charlie responding to Union and 125th," confirmed Ty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kim and Alex pulled up to the location of their call and were looking at the directory located at the front door. There was no Apartment 13J and they were going through the process of pushing all the buttons for any apartment with the number 13 or the letter J in them when 55-David pulled up with Faith and Bosco.  
  
"What's up guys?" said Faith as she and Bosco ascended the stairs. They had come as a routine procedure for any unknown-type calls just in case there were any problems.  
  
"Doesn't seem to be an Apartment 13J and we tried all the other combinations we could think of all with the same response, 'We don't need an ambulance here,'" Kim said.  
  
Bosco keyed his radio, "55-David to Central. We're at the medical at Sutton and 105th. Do you have any more information on the caller? The apartment number doesn't exist."  
  
"Negative 55-David. Also no call-back number," came the reply from Central.  
  
"10-4," said Bosco. "Show this call as unfounded and return 55-David and Adam-55-3 back to service."  
  
"10-4, 55-David, at 2008 hours," confirmed the dispatcher.  
  
"Catch you on the next one," said Faith as she and Bosco got back into the RMP and started up the engine. Alex was getting back in the driver's side of the rig and Kim was putting the equipment back in one of the outside compartments of the ambulance when a car came careening around the corner with no headlights. The only one to see the car coming was Bosco who saw the reflection of streetlights in the shiny paint of the dark-colored, late model sedan. Kim heard the screeching tires, but just as she stepped back to swing the compartment door shut she was struck by the vehicle and thrown up and over the hood, landing on the ground alongside Bosco's door. Bosco didn't even have time to warn Kim between the time he saw it and the car hit her. The car continued to speed away.  
  
"Holy Shit!" screamed Bosco as he looked out his window to see Kim, lying motionless on the ground alongside him. Faith immediately jumped out of the car as did Alex. Both women ran around to where Kim was laying while Bosco got on the radio. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sully and Ty had just finished their domestic disturbance call. They were able to calm both parties down and by the time they left, the two lovebirds were acting like newlyweds again. "Another crisis averted," Sully joked to Ty, who was still thinking about the feeling he had when Kim and Alex had taken off.  
  
As the two were getting in their RMP, they heard the distraught voice of Bosco over the radio.  
  
"55-David to Central! Clear the channel!" Bosco yelled into the radio, still not believing what he had just seen.  
  
"10-4, 55-David. All units 55-David has the channel," advised Central.  
  
"Central, we need another bus on the rush and more units to this location. We have a paramedic struck by a hit and run vehicle. Vehicle is a late model, dark-colored sedan. The vehicle left from Sutton heading south down 105th without any lights at a high rate of speed. There should be damage to the front of the vehicle on the driver's side and also to the hood, windshield and roof of the vehicle," said Bosco, trying to remain calm.  
  
After receiving confirmation of the information from the dispatcher, Bosco climbed over the seat and exited the vehicle on Faith's side. As he ran around the car and toward the ambulance, he called over to Alex, "What do you need Alex!?"  
  
By the time Bosco had finished giving the information out over the radio, Alex and Faith had time to get over their initial shock enough to begin working on Kim. "I need the trauma kit, a backboard, collar and the stretcher over here!" yelled Alex.  
  
"Please Kim, talk to me," said Faith as she brushed Kim's hair away from her face. There was no response. Kim was unconscious. Faith looked over at Alex who was trying hard to remain calm and take care of her friend. Her hands were shaking. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ty and Sully looked at each other and knew by the tone of Bosco's voice that it was bad. They had never heard Bosco sound rattled over the radio no matter how serious the call. Sully started up the car and Ty flipped on the lights and siren and they sped off in the direction of the call, not knowing if it was Kim or Alex, and fearing the worst.  
  
A few moments later they pulled up in front of the building on Sutton as Adam 55-2 was pulling away with Carlos driving and Doc in the back leaning over a patient. The whole street was awash in the glow of red and white lights from the emergency vehicles. Bosco and Faith were standing at the back of Alex and Kim's rig using the saline to wash blood from their hands and talking to Lieutenant Swersky.  
  
Ty and Sully walked alongside of 55-David and looked down to see the reflection of lights in the puddle of blood alongside of the RMP. They each had a sick feeling as they walked up to Bosco, Faith and the Lieutenant. Davis couldn't seem to get the words out so Sully asked for him.  
  
"Bosco, who is it?" asked Sully cautiously, not wanting it to be either Kim or Alex, but knowing that it was. Bosco and Faith both looked at Sully and Davis. "It's Kim," Bosco said quietly. No one, not even Faith, had known about Kim and Bosco's encounter outside the bowling alley that night and that Bosco still had some feelings for Kim.  
  
Ty let out a sigh of relief, not that it was Kim instead of Alex, but just that it wasn't Alex. He looked up hoping no one misunderstood his feelings and with one look around the group knew that everyone understood. "How bad is she?" asked Ty. "Pretty bad," answered Faith solemnly. Bosco looked at the ground and said, "C'mon Faith, I gotta go tell Jimmy." Faith looked up at the Lieutenant as if asking if it was okay for them to go and the Lieutenant just nodded his approval. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bosco had called the firehouse and found out that it was Jimmy's night off. They arrived at his apartment and paused in front of the door. Bosco was about to knock on the door, but was trying to phrase what he was going to say in his mind first. It was always hard to break bad news to anyone, and he hated this part of his job, but it was particularly hard when it was friends that were sick or hurt and being notified.  
  
Bosco finally took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A moment later the door opened, "Hey Faith, Bosco. What's up?" said Jimmy with a smile on his face. Faith saw Joey playing video games behind Jimmy. "Can we come in?" asked Bosco and by the look on his face, Jimmy knew it was bad. He opened the door wider to let the two officers in. Faith walked over to Joey while Bosco spoke to Jimmy.  
  
"Jimmy, Alex and Kim were on a medical call that was unfounded. We were all just getting ready to leave the scene and Kim was putting equipment away. A car came around the corner from nowhere and hit Kim. She's alive, but hurt pretty bad. Doc, Carlos and Alex took her to Mercy. You should probably get down there," he said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder to make sure he understood the seriousness of the situation.  
  
Jimmy looked over at Joey, and Faith looked back at Jimmy. "Um, I guess I need to, uh, Jesus, I can't think," said Jimmy shakily. Faith came over and said, "Jimmy, can your Mom come over and watch Joey? We'll take you over to the hospital as soon as she gets here."  
  
"What? Um, she should be here any minute. She was going to watch Joey tonight while I met Kim after work. We're trying to work some things out," said Jimmy, suddenly feeling ill. He ran to the bathroom to get sick just as his mother walked through the open front door.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Mrs. Doherty. Bosco and Faith explained the situation to her and a few minutes later they were on their way with Jimmy to the hospital. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TBC. 


	2. Chapter 2

Hit and Run - Chapter 2  
  
Sully and Ty walked into the Emergency Room of Mercy Hospital and ran into Doc and Carlos at the desk filling out paperwork. Ty saw Alex sitting in one of the exam rooms and became alarmed. "What's wrong with Alex? Why is she in an exam room?" he asked Doc nervously.   
  
"Ty, she's okay. She's just in shock. The doctor put her in there to give her some time to pull herself together a little. She was shaking pretty bad when we got on-scene. I think the doctor gave her something to settle her down a little," he explained to him.  
  
He wanted to rush in to her, but he also wanted to know how Kim was. "So, how bad is Kim?" Sully asked. "She's pretty messed up," Carlos started, before getting a look from Doc for being so callous.  
  
Doc continued, "She's pretty serious. She has a skull fracture and some facial fractures, either from hitting the windshield of the car or the pavement. No one actually saw her land so we're not sure. She has a broken pelvis and a fractured femur. They think she has some internal bleeding also. They did an ultrasound and there's some blood in the abdominal cavity. They're gonna take her to the OR for the fractures, and they'll do an exploratory to check out and repair any bleeding they find."  
  
"But, she's gonna make it, right?" asked Ty, still looking at Alex who didn't seem to see him even though she was looking right at him. Doc didn't answer right away and Ty brought his gaze over to him. "Right?!" he asked again.  
  
"We just don't know, man. It's pretty bad. Did anyone get hold of Jimmy or her Mom?" Doc asked Sully. "Faith and Bosco went over to tell him. I'm sure he'll be here any minute," Sully explained as he watched his partner walk into the room with Alex. "You know, we were on our way to that call with them because Davis had a gut feeling that something was gonna happen. We got detoured to a domestic though," he said with that 'what if' tone in his voice.  
  
"Yeah, well Bosco and Faith were there, but it sounds like everything just happened so fast that it didn't matter. At least Bosco was able to get a description of the car," said Doc, trying to console Sully a little for something that was beyond his control.  
  
"Yeah, but we haven't come across the car yet," said Sully as Bosco, Faith and Jimmy came into the ER.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Alex?" Ty said quietly as he walked into the room where Alex was. No response. "Alex," he said a little louder. Slowly Alex's gaze drifted up to Ty and her eyes filled with tears that slowly spilled down her cheeks.   
  
"Ty. Oh my God," was all she got out before Ty knelt down and held her in his arms, gently rocking her and smoothing her hair. "It's okay, Alex. It's gonna be okay," he just kept saying to her for the next few minutes, feeling her body shake with sobs.  
  
"Are you okay?" Ty asked her after a few minutes. "Did you get hurt at all?" he asked, noticing the blood on her hands.  
  
She shook her head, wiping at her tears with tissues that the nurse had brought into her. "I'm fine. Not a scratch. It's not mine, it's Kim's," she said noticing that he was looking at her blood-covered hands and jacket. "I just don't understand what happened? One minute we were joking about another false alarm with Bosco and Faith and the next I saw Kim flying through the air. It was awful," she finished as fresh tears started to fall from her eyes.  
  
Ty moved forward to take her in his arms again and said, "It was fast. Bosco said the car came out of nowhere with no headlights and then just kept going. He couldn't see the license plates, but he gave out a description of the car right away. We still haven't turned up anything though," he said. He and Alex were looking at each other when Alex noticed Ty's eyes fill up just as he turned away.   
  
"Ty, what's wrong?" she asked, thinking something had happened to Kim and he was too afraid to tell her. "What is it, just tell me."  
  
"It's just.... I...," he paused taking a deep breath. "I thought it was you," he finally said. "And now I feel guilty because I'm relieved that it wasn't, but then it's Kim, one of my best friends," he said, letting a couple of tears fall. Now it was Alex's turn to console him.  
  
"It's okay Ty. It's a normal reaction when you find out that someone you care for somewhat has possibly been injured. To be relieved is normal, despite the fact that the person hurt or sick is someone else you know," she said, trying to make him feel a little better.  
  
"Someone I love," he said quietly in her ear. He felt her body tense a little at his confession and then relax into him. "Oh Ty, I love you too," she said and their embrace tightened.  
  
They sat for a few minutes, alone together, Ty just offering silent support. Ty went over to the sink and got a warm washcloth and started to clean off Alex's hands. It felt so good to have his warm hands massaging hers. Suddenly Alex said, "I froze."  
  
"What?" he said to her as he finished drying her hands. "I froze out there tonight. I don't even remember doing anything to help her. I don't remember anything after I saw her fly through the air," she said, the words coming quickly now. "Ty, if she dies, it's because I did nothing!"  
  
"No Alex, I'm sure that's not true. You're too good at what you do to let your feelings about what happened stop you from doing what needed to be done," reassured Ty. She squeezed his hand. "Thanks," she said, suddenly looking out the window of the room and seeing Jimmy, Bosco and Faith talking to Doc.  
  
"There's Jimmy," she told Ty. "I should go out there and see if there's any news," she said, starting to stand up and then swaying. Ty caught her and sat her back down in the chair. "You've been through a lot. You stay here. I'll go," he said, urging her to stay there. She gave his hand another squeeze and he left to go talk to Jimmy.  
  
Doc saw Ty come out of the room and he talked to him for a moment and then headed over to her. He knocked on the doorframe and asked, "Alex, are you okay?"  
  
Alex jumped at the knock and looked up to see Doc standing in the doorway. "Yeah, Doc. C'mon in," she said, a warm smile coming across her face for a moment. "Any news yet?" she asked him. He shook his head no and said, "Not yet. It's probably gonna be a little while yet," he told her. There was a long silence in the room and then Doc said, "You did fine."  
  
"What?" she asked him, not knowing what he meant. "You. You did fine out there with Kim. All the right things. You didn't freeze," he reassured her. Ty must have told him what her fears were. "I don't know," she said. "I was pretty messed up."  
  
"You weren't too messed up to do what you were trained to do. Faith said you didn't hesitate, not for a second. You probably saved her life, Alex," he told her. "You took care of her until we got there and then you fell apart," he continued. "And that's okay, that's to be expected. But don't ever doubt what you did out there to save her, because you did it," he finished sternly.  
  
"Okay, thanks, Doc," she said, relieved at his words.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco and Faith were standing off to a corner of the room. "So, how are you?" he asked her, seeing her hands still shaking as she took a drink of her coffee.  
  
"Man, that was awful. You know, I see this stuff happen all the time. It's just that it's different when it's someone you know, I guess," she said. "So, how are you doing? You saw the whole thing happen. She landed right in front of you."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm fine," he said too quickly. "Bos," she said. "It's me. I know you remember? I can tell just by the look on your face that you're not okay. What's up?" she prodded him.  
  
"It's just... I couldn't stop it from happening. I saw that jag-off come flying around the corner and I couldn't stop him from hitting her," he said, clearly upset. "I didn't even warn her," he said, his voice cracking slightly.  
  
"Bos," said Faith, gently touching his arm after looking around to make sure no one was watching them. They hadn't yet told anyone about their feelings for each other. "It was too fast. It all happened too fast. I didn't even see the guy coming. I just saw her flying through the air. You got all the information and you got it out on the radio right away. We're gonna find this guy," she said to him.  
  
"I was with her once," he said suddenly, looking into Faith's confused eyes. "What?" she said, not understanding what he was saying.  
  
"Kim. I was with her once. That night at the bowling alley, when those four teenagers died in that accident. Remember?" he asked her. She nodded, still not knowing what he was talking about.   
  
"We were outside of the bowling alley, in my car, and we were doin' it," he stopped suddenly, looking at Faith, not wanting to hurt her. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this. I'm sorry Faith, it was a long time ago. I was a different person. It has nothing to do with us now," he assured her. She nodded to him to continue. "Anyway, Jimmy came out and she made us stop. She's still not over him," he said.   
  
"Did you have feelings for her, Bos?" she asked him. "Some. Enough to let it get as far as it did," he said to her. "Enough that maybe it could have gone further if not for her feelings for Jimmy and my feelings for you," he finished, looking directly into her eyes, letting her know that she was who he wanted to be with. She held Bosco's hand and leaned in to give him a kiss, both of them forgetting where they were for a moment.  
  
They were interrupted when Carlos came over and said that everyone was going to go down and give blood, something that the FDNY and NYPD did when one of their own was injured. It not only helped the person they were there for, it made them feel like they were doing something, anything, while the hours ticked by.  
  
"Absolutely," Faith said and she and Bosco left to go donate some blood. "Great! How long before you think that's all over the precinct," Bosco said with a grimace on his face.   
  
"Who? Nieto?" she asked with a surprised look on her face. "He wouldn't know a couple if he fell over one," she said and they both chuckled.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	3. Chapter 3

Hit and Run - Chapter 3  
  
Alex made her way up to the waiting area outside of the Operating Room. Ty, Sully, Bosco, Faith, Doc and Carlos had all had to return to duty. After all, there were still people getting sick in the City and Bosco was hell-bent on finding the animal that had run Kim down and then just took off. Ty didn't want to leave Alex, but she swore to him that she was okay. He finally agreed and told her he would be back as soon as his shift was over. He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her forehead before finally leaving.  
  
She looked around the room and saw Jimmy sitting in the corner with Kim's mother who had arrived about a half hour ago. He saw her walk in the room and slowly stood up. She wasn't sure what he was feeling. He looked angry and anxious all at the same time. "Is he angry with me?" she thought to herself. She took steps toward him and it seemed to take forever. Finally, they were face-to-face and she started to speak, "Jimmy, I...." She was cut-off by the swift movement of him throwing his arms around her and hugging her. "Alex, thank you for taking care of her until Doc got there. I know how awful it must have been, but the doctor said that if it wasn't for the care she received immediately after it happened, she might not be with us anymore. Thank you," he said again, a tear sliding down his cheek. She immediately relaxed and allowed herself to offer support to her friend. He finally let her go and introduced her to Kim's mother.  
  
"So, is there any word from the doctor yet?" she asked him as they both sat down, still holding each other's hands. Jimmy shook his head no and said, "The nurse came out once and said that she was doing okay and it would probably be another couple of hours. They're taking care of her femur fracture and the plastic surgeon was just finishing up her facial fractures."  
  
"What about the internal bleeding? I'd heard something about some blood in her abdomen?" she asked him. "I guess there's a laceration of her liver, but they stitched it up and think it'll heal on it's own. They're just gonna keep an eye on it," he finished, falling silent again. Over the next half hour to forty-five minutes, there was a steady trickle of co-workers that were getting off shift or stopping by before work to see how Kim was doing. Ty and Sully had returned after their shift and were just returning with some coffee from the cafeteria.  
  
The doctor, finally finished with Kim's surgeries, came out into the waiting area to find the room full of firefighters, police officers and medics from the 55th Precinct. Jimmy was the first to see him because he hadn't taken his eyes off those doors since he had gotten there. He took Mrs. Zambrano's hand and the two stood up and walked toward the doctor. The room full of Kim's friends and co-workers became silent as they all looked at the doctor. Alex grabbed Ty's hand and he moved closer to her.  
  
"Mr. Doherty?" he asked and Jimmy nodded his head. He looked at Kim's mom and introduced her to the doctor. "How is she, Doctor?" he asked.  
  
"Well, as you know, she's taken quite an assault on her body. But, we've been able to put her back together again. The internal bleeding has been stopped, the leg fracture had to be pinned and the plastic surgeons did a fantastic job with her facial fractures. I expect all those injuries to heal beautifully with minimal if any scarring," he said, sounding very upbeat.  
  
"Great," said Jimmy quietly. "But, what about her skull fracture? Is she gonna be okay?" he asked, the words coming out sounding like he was pleading with the doctor to tell him she was fine.  
  
"Well, we did a CT Scan and it appears that there was no permanent damage to the brain. However, there is some considerable swelling, which is perfectly normal after an injury such as this. We're just going to have to wait and see if she has any motor or neuro function deficits. It will be at least a couple of days until we know any more. We have to keep her pretty heavily sedated in order to keep the pressure down in her brain and give it time to heal," he explained.   
  
Jimmy let out a heavy sigh, "Okay, Doctor. Thank you for all you're doing for her. Can I see her?"  
  
"She's going to be in the Recovery Room for a short time yet," he said looking at his watch. "I'd say give her another 45 minutes or so and they can move her up to the ICU. I'll let the nurses know that you can see her, very briefly, as soon as they get her settled there," he finished, shaking Jimmy's hand and lightly touching Mrs. Zambrano's shoulder before turning and heading back through the doors.  
  
Jimmy looked down at Kim's mother and saw that she was crying and beginning to shake. He put an arm around her and helped her back to chair. He looked at Alex and motioned for her to come over and sit with her. He needed to get away from this room, to get some fresh air and thank God that Kim was still alive. He walked out of the waiting area and down the hall to another waiting area with no one there. He walked over to the window and opened it, feeling the refreshing cool night air. He breathed it in deeply and slowly released the breath, letting the tightness he felt in his chest and stomach go with it. And then, he allowed himself to release all the emotion that he had been holding in check back there. Tears flowed freely and he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly and saw that his good friend, D.K., was standing behind him, just offering him any support that he could. "She's gonna be okay, Brother. I just know it," he offered. Jimmy nodded his head, unable to speak. After a few minutes, he found his voice again. He cleared his throat and turned to his friend. "I've gotta call my Mom. She's got Joey. He's probably terrified." He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and began dialing and D.K. said, "Okay. I'll go back and let you know when they say it's okay for you to go see her."  
  
"Thanks," Jimmy said as D.K. walked away and his mother answered the phone on the first ring.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bosco and Faith had gotten held over at work with an assault call and had finally been heading in toward the station to check out when a call came over the radio.  
  
"Central to all 55 Units. 10-13, Officer Down; 10-13, Officer Down. Mountainview and 130th, hit and run. EMS is in route."  
  
"Dammit!" yelled Bosco as Faith turned on the lights and siren and Bosco turned the car around to head toward the injured officer. "55-David to Central, we are in route to the 10-13," Faith said over the radio.  
  
"What the hell is going on?!" Faith yelled over the sound of the siren. Bosco just shook his head, "I don't know, but I got a bad feeling."  
  
They were the first to arrive at the scene and found Officer Bobby Cassidy lying on the ground, his partner, a rookie, next to him with his coat stuffed under his head. They heard the approach of EMS and other police units in the distance. Bosco bent down over Cassidy and saw that he was conscious. "Bobby, you're gonna be okay. EMS is right around the corner. You just hang on," he urged the man. Bosco looked over the other officer to see if he could tell how seriously he was injured. He looked like he had an obvious leg fracture, but he couldn't see any blood anywhere. He tried to keep him talking.  
  
Faith took the rookie officer aside and sat him down on the curb. He looked extremely pale. "So, what happened, Shore?" she asked him, looking quickly at his name tag. "Uh, I'm not really sure Ma'am. We were called to an unknown problem and couldn't find anything. We were coming back to the RMP and then this car came out of nowhere with no headlights. I yelled and Bobby managed to jump out of the way, but I think he got clipped in the leg," he said rapidly, looking over at his partner with concern.  
  
The paramedics had arrived and were working on the officer and Bosco stepped back to give them room. "Bosco," Cassidy said. "Tell the kid he did good. If not for him I wouldn't be talking to you right now. I didn't even see the bastard coming until Keith yelled over to me." Bosco nodded, "Okay Bobby. I'll tell him. He gonna be okay?" Bosco asked the medics that were working on him. One of the medics nodded and said, "Yeah, it looks like just a broken leg. We're gonna take him over to Mercy." Bosco breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'll see you over at the hospital, Man. I'm gonna go talk to your partner." Cassidy nodded to Bosco and let out a cry of pain as the medics put the splint on his leg.  
  
"Okay, Shore," Faith said, trying to calm him down again. "Tell me again. What did the car look like?" Bosco came over next to Faith and the young officer as the Lieutenant pulled up. "Busted leg. He's gonna be okay," Bosco informed both officers.  
  
"It was a dark-colored - maybe dark blue or black - late model sedan. No headlights on. Looked like there was only the driver, but I couldn't see if it was a male or female because it was dark," the rookie cop said, regaining his composure now that he knew his partner was going to be okay.  
  
Lieutenant Swersky walked up to the three officers after checking on the status of Cassidy before the medics took off for the hospital. "Okay, run it for me Yokas," he said noticing she was the one with the notebook. He looked over at the rookie. "You okay Shore? You need to get checked out?"  
  
"N-n-no, Sir," he replied. "I'm fine, but I'd like to go with Cassidy." The Lieutenant looked over to Faith to make sure she had all the information they needed for now and she nodded to him that she did. "Okay," said the Lieutenant. "Christopher - take Shore over to Mercy and wait with him. . I'll bring their unit over to the hospital later. I wanna talk to these guys and the crime scene crew."  
  
"Yes, Sir," said Sgt. Christopher.  
  
"Shore," Bosco called after the young officer who turned to look back at him. "Cassidy said you did good. If not for you, he wouldn't be talking to us. Nice job," he finished and the officer turned and walked toward the Lieutenant's car. Bosco turned back to Faith and the Lieutenant who were just staring at him with a surprised look on their faces. "What?!" he asked, not knowing what they were looking at.  
  
"YOU giving words of encouragement to a ROOKIE?" asked Swersky with a crooked smile on his face.  
  
"Yeah, well. He looked like he was ready to puke and, you know," Bosco didn't finish before Faith and Swersky chuckled. "Okay, Yokas. Run it for me," said the Lieutenant.  
  
Faith gave him the information and after a few minutes one of the crime scene techs came over to brief them on what they'd found.  
  
"We have bits of glass from what looks like a broken headlight," he said solemnly.   
  
"What haven't you told us?" asked the Lieutenant.  
  
"Looks like a match to the glass found at the scene from the earlier hit and run with the medic," he finished gravely.  
  
"What the hell?" all three officers said in unison.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	4. Chapter 4

Hit and Run - Chapter 4  
  
D.K. came out to the waiting are where Jimmy was still sitting with his head resting on his hands. "Hey, Jimmy. Nurse says you can go in and see Kim now," he said to his friend.  
  
Jimmy looked up at him and D.K. had to admit he looked terrible. "Are you okay?" he asked his friend. "I will be as soon as Kim wakes up and talks to me," Jimmy answered as he stood and stretched. As he walked by D.K. he lightly punched him in the shoulder. "I'm here, Man. If you need me," D.K. offered. "I know, D.K. Thanks."  
  
The nurse showed Jimmy into the room, explaining to him what to expect when he saw her. He understood that there would be a lot of tubes and wires attached to her, but no matter what he knew, he was not prepared for her appearance. He couldn't believe the amount of swelling around her face. She had terrible bruising, her eyes swollen shut. Her face had numerous abrasions from the broken glass of the car and landing on the roadway. Her head was bandaged with a probe that monitored the pressure in her brain. Her leg was in traction, with the pin holding her femur fracture in place. He stopped abruptly, drawing in a breath. The nurses had seen this before and were prepared. She immediately put a hand on his arm and the other on his back. She kept talking to him, quietly encouraging him and explaining that the cuts and bruises would heal; that the swelling would go down over the next few days. She told him that the plastic surgeons were able to repair her fractures by making incisions that would be hidden by the natural contours of Kim's face and neck. He asked the nurse if she was in pain and was told that she was very heavily sedated and pain medicated. She gently walked Jimmy forward and told him to take her hand and talk to her. Even though they didn't know if she could hear anyone, they didn't know that she COULDN'T either.  
  
As Jimmy sat in the chair the nurse brought to the side of Kim's bed and took her hand, the nurse quietly slipped away to give him some privacy - although she was close enough if any problems arose.  
  
At first Jimmy just sat with Kim, holding her hand and gently rubbing her arm. Then, he moved closer to her ear and began to speak to her. "Kimmy, it's me. You're in the hospital and you're going to be okay. The doctors say everything will heal and you'll be out of here soon. Joey's okay. I just got done talking with him and he can't wait until he can come and see you. He said to give you a hug, but I don't know where you don't hurt so I'll save it for later. He's at my Mom's right now. Your Mom is outside waiting to see you too. They're not gonna let me stay in here too long because you've gotta get plenty of rest, but I'm not leaving. I'll be right outside and I'll come back in as soon as they let me. Alex is okay too. She's worried and wrung out, but she's okay."   
  
Jimmy just sat and held onto Kim's hand. A couple of times he thought that he felt her squeeze his hand, but the nurse told him that it was probably just a reflex reaction. Finally, the nurse came to tell him that he had to leave for a while, but told him Kim's mother could come in for a moment. He leaned back over and kissed her gently. "I love you Kimmy. Please wake up soon. Joey needs you. I need you," he whispered as a few tears formed in his eyes. He brushed them away, gave her hand one last squeeze and returned to the waiting room.  
  
He took a moment to compose himself before stepping into the waiting room. He didn't want to scare Kim's mother or their friends that were waiting to see by the look on Jimmy's face how Kim was.  
  
He walked through the door and put a half smile on his face. Everyone was looking at him. "She's settled," he began. "She looks pretty beat up, but the doctor says that she has a really good chance. We'll just have to wait and see for the next couple of days. I just want to thank you all for coming in, but there's really nothing we can do but wait," he finished, walking over to Mrs. Zambrano to tell her that she could go in to see Kim.  
  
She walked hesitantly toward her daughter's room and Jimmy turned back to Alex. Just then, Bosco and Faith walked through the doors. Bosco had a fierce look on his face as he walked over to Ty and Sully to let them know what happened to Cassidy. Jimmy watched as Sully and Davis' faces tightened with anger and he and Alex walked over to the group to see what was going on.  
  
"Hey," Jimmy said to Bosco and Faith. The two officers turned to Jimmy and nodded. Ty glanced at Alex and held her gaze. She noticed the worried look on his face; in the faces of all the officers as a matter of fact.  
  
"How's Kim doing?" Faith asked him. "She's holding her own. They fixed all the fractures so that they heal right. We just have to wait a couple of days to see how she does with the head injury," he said, suddenly exhausted.  
  
"So, what's up?" Alex asked looking around the group and landing on Bosco knowing he wouldn't hold anything back. That was one thing about Bosco - he never pulled any punches - he told you exactly where you stood.  
  
"Well, you know Cassidy and his new partner, Shore, right?" he asked Alex and Jimmy. They both nodded.  
  
"Cassidy was hit by a car tonight at an 'unfounded' call. Hit and run driver. Just a broken leg cause Shore yelled in time for him to jump out of the way. Shore got a look at the car - same description as the one that hit Kim," he said, looking at Jimmy. "The crime scene guys matched the broken glass from that scene with the glass at Kim's accident."  
  
"So, what does that mean?" asked Jimmy. "Just a coincidence?"  
  
"We don't really know anything for sure yet, Jimmy," offered Faith. "They're still in the process of investigating everything. The detectives listened to the 9-1-1 tapes from both calls and it's the same guy," she said.  
  
"So, what does that mean? Is there some guy out there setting up cops and firefighters with false alarms?" asked Alex, not wanting to believe someone could do something like that.  
  
"That's what they're trying to figure out," said Bosco. "Until they let us know definitely, pass the word around to keep an eye out for this jag-off."  
  
"Yeah, like we don't have enough to worry about with people shooting at us and buildings burning down around us," said Faith with disgust.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Next Day  
Roll Call - 2:30pm  
  
Lieutenant Swersky was handling roll call today. Sergeant Christopher just stood there, trying to look useful as the Lieutenant went over the events of the previous night and updated the officers on the condition of Kim and Cassidy.  
  
"So, keep your eyes and ears open and be careful. Boscorelli, Yokas and Shore - see me in my office before you head out. That is all," he finished. Faith and Bosco looked at each other, each wondering what Bosco had done this time. They glanced over at Shore and noticed that he looked awful.  
  
"Hey Lieu. What's up?" Faith said as she knocked on the Lieutenant's door and all three officers entered. The Lieutenant looked up from his desk and took in Shore's appearance.  
  
"Shore. You look like shit. Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked the nervous young man.   
  
"I'm okay, Sir," Keith answered. Swersky kept his eyes on the officer for a moment, "Uh huh. Yokas, I'm putting you with Shore today. Bosco, you're solo for this shift."  
  
"What!? Boss, why are you splitting us up?" asked Bosco, not wanting Faith to be out there without him if there was some psycho trying to take out the NYPD and FDNY.  
  
"Because, Boscorelli...." he began, clearly irritated at his orders being questioned. "Shore's not ready to go out on his own and I definitely don't want him being influenced by you. I've got enough headaches," he finished as he noticed the grin on Bosco's face. He loved the fact that no one ever knew what to expect from him.  
  
"What!? You think that's funny Boscorelli?" fumed Swersky. "No, Sir. Not at all," he said, trying to suppress a smile.  
  
"Alright. Hit the street then. And be careful," he said, dismissing the officers.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The three officers walked out of the Lieutenant's office and closed the door behind them. Faith told Shore to go sign out their radios and, after he left, Bosco and Faith just looked at each other. They hadn't really had a lot of time together the last week or so and then after last night they were both too exhausted to meet up for a drink to talk and so each went home alone.  
  
"This really sucks Faith," Bosco said angrily.  
  
"Bos, it's not forever. Just 'til the Boss finds someone else to ride with Shore," Faith said, trying to calm Boso down.  
  
"I know, but with all that's goin' on I don't want you out there by yourself," he said insistently.  
  
"Bos, I'm not by myself. I'm with Shore. I'm more worried about you," she said anxiously as they started to walk toward the door.  
  
"Me!? What for?" Bosco asked.   
  
"Just be careful, Bosco," she said, touching his arm and letting her hand stay there a little too long. They looked each other in the eye. Bosco looked up and down the hallway and saw no one around. He grabbed Faith's hand and dragged her into the locker room, knowing that everyone was either out on patrol or had changed and left to go home after their shift.  
  
He took a look around the locker room just to be sure as the door closed and then pushed Faith back against the closed door. Before she knew what hit her, Bosco leaned in and put his mouth her's. He could feel her tenseness as she worried about someone walking in on them, but then as his kiss intensified, he felt her begin to relax and give in, her tongue beginning to probe his mouth.  
  
Faith was starting to enjoy this - even though she was terrified of being caught by someone - especially Christopher. Bosco wrapped his arms around her waist and drew Faith closer. She could feel him against her as they continued, their passion increasing. Just then the door hit her in the back of the head and their teeth crashed together.  
  
"OW!" they both said in unison as they heard a nervous voice on the other side of the door say, "Sorry."   
  
Faith put her hand to her mouth and pulled it away to find that there was no blood. She looked over at Bosco and saw that his lip was cut and he was dabbing at it with his finger.  
"Dammit," he said as he felt himself getting a fat lip. Faith stifled a chuckle and pushed him back so that he was further into the locker room before she opened to door to see who was on the other side.  
  
As the door opened she saw Keith Shore on the other side, his eyes wide. "I'm so sorry, Ma'am," he stammered. "I got the radios and then I couldn't find you so I thought I'd check in here," he rambled on. "I hope I didn't hurt you."  
  
"No, not me. But you gave my partner here a fat lip," she said, finally letting the chuckles out.  
  
Bosco stormed past Faith and Shore, "Glad you're amused Faith. Damned rookies!" Officer Shore quickly followed him, trying to apologize. Bosco drew up short, the new recruit almost running into him, and held his hand up signaling for the recruit to be quiet. "Just don't!" he said shortly. He turned back toward Faith, annoyed that she still had a smile on her face and said, "Be careful. Call for help if you need it and I'll be right there."  
  
"Yeah, you too," she said, looking at him longingly, wishing they could finish what they started.  
  
They made it to their cars and headed out on patrol. Bosco couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had at not riding with his partner during all this.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC.... 


	5. Chapter 5

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Alex and Ty were sitting in the coffee shop at Mercy Hospital. Alex had wanted to stop in and check on Kim and Jimmy before heading to work. "Thanks for last night," Alex said looking over her coffee cup, as Ty played with her fingers across the table.  
  
"Anytime, Alex. You know that right?" said Ty. Alex nodded and took another sip of coffee, thinking of last night.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
They had met up after Ty's shift last night and ended up back at his apartment. Nothing had happened - he was just 'there' for her. They ate a light dinner and stretched out on his couch and just talked.  
  
Carlos came in around 5:00 a.m. and saw the two of them lying with each other on the couch, sound asleep. He threw the blanket that was on the back of the couch over them before heading off to get some sleep. Alex heard a noise that woke her (Carlos shutting his door) and looked at Ty, who was sleeping so peacefully. She felt so safe here with him, his arms wrapped around her. She listened to the steady rhythm of his breathing and thought back to when she was a little girl and had a nightmare. Her father would come into her room and lay down alongside her until she started to feel better. She smiled, remembering that he was always the one that fell asleep first and that the rhythm of his breathing was what soothed her back to sleep. "God, I miss him so much," she thought as she drifted back to sleep beside Ty.  
  
It was 7:00 a.m. when the sun finally maneuvered through the windows and shone directly in Ty's eyes. He awoke with a start because it was as if someone had turned on a flashlight aimed right at his eyes. "What's wrong?" Alex said, alarmed at his sudden movement.  
  
"Nothing. Sorry I woke you up," he said stretching. She glanced over to the clock and saw what time it was. "That's okay," she said as she started to get up and let out a groan. She hadn't realized how tense her whole body was during last night's ordeal until she had a chance to relax. Sleeping on the couch didn't help either. "God! I feel so old," she said straightening up.  
  
"I'm gonna grab a shower if that's okay with you," Alex said as she headed down the hall to the bathroom.  
  
"Sure. I'll make us some breakfast and then I'll take a shower too. Unless you want some help in that department," he said with a smirk on his face.  
  
"That's entirely up to you, but I'll skip breakfast. I want to get over to the hospital to see Kim before I have to get to work. Are those clothes still here that I left a few weeks ago?" she called over her shoulder.  
  
"Yeah. Top drawer on the left," Ty answered her as he finished getting the coffee started.  
  
They both heard a loud thumping on the hallway wall, followed by Carlos' voice. "Hey! I'm trying to sleep here!" Alex and Ty looked at each other, neither one realizing that Carlos had come home. They both laughed and yelled back, "Sorry!"  
  
Alex got her stuff and headed into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and let the hot water work out the kinks in her muscles. A few moments later she felt a presence in the room with her and Ty got in the shower behind her. He wrapped an arm around her from behind and joined her under the hot water, holding a cup of coffee in front of her to take a sip. He reached over and put the cup down on the counter. He grabbed the soap and started at her shoulders, slowly working his way around to her front and then down. Alex let out a moan of pleasure as she felt Ty behind her. She turned around and took the soap from him, and started the process on him. Neither said a word as they slowly and completely satisfied each other.   
  
After about an hour, they emerged from the bathroom, Ty with a towel wrapped around his waist and Alex dressed. They heard the television on in the living room and looked down the hallway to see Carlos drinking coffee and eating cereal out of the box. He just looked back at them with a sneer. "Let me know when you leave so I can have some peace and quiet. And I hope you cleaned the shower when you were done," he said sarcastically. Alex blushed and Ty just laughed. They both went into Ty's room to finish getting ready.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"What?" Ty asked as he looked at the smile on her face. "Just thinking about this morning," she said, starting to laugh again. "Carlo was really pissed," she finished, standing up to head out to work.  
  
"Yeah, well.... I was thinking about that. Maybe he should take your apartment and you should move into mine," he said, looking at her with a serious look on his face. "It would be a lot easier and then Carlos could get a good night's sleep and not be so cranky," he finished, standing up and walking out with her.  
  
"Hmmm. Sounds like a good idea, Junior," she said playfully as she tickled him and he jumped, almost knocking over one of the waitresses along the way.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Ty parked his truck and he and Alex got out, kissed and headed to their respective buildings. "Be careful," Ty called over to her, walking backwards toward the door to the station house. "You too," she called back over her shoulder. Ty continued walking backwards, watching Alex go into the firehouse for her shift. He walked right into someone and turned to apologize.  
  
"Davis!" yelled Bosco angrily as he held his cup of coffee away from him as it spilled over his hand.  
  
"Sorry, Bos," Ty said as he picked up Bosco's coffee-soaked newspaper from the ground and handed it to him.  
  
"Great! Just watch where you're goin' will ya!" he grumbled.   
  
"What's wrong with you today?" Ty asked innocently.  
  
"Oh, I don't know, Davis. Maybe it's because Faith's gotta ride with Shore again tonight and I'm stuck by myself again," he said angrily.   
  
"Oh," said Ty, sorry that he had asked. "Well, how much longer is that supposed to be for?"  
  
"I think Hutchins is going on vacation after tonight, so that'll free-up Jones to ride with Shore," he shrugged, hoping that after tonight he'd be back with Faith.  
  
"Well, it's only one more night, right?" said Ty as the two officers entered the locker room to change for roll call. "Yeah, but I just have this bad feeling about Faith being out there alone," Bosco explained to Davis.  
  
"She's not alone, Bos. She's with Shore," Davis offered, hoping to make his friend feel a little better.  
  
"Yeah, well Shore's a mess. Look what happened to his partner," Bosco said. Just then Faith walked into the locker room to change. "Hey guys," she said casually. Bosco couldn't believe how much he missed her. Now that things were starting to pick up for them as a couple, he didn't want to spend one minute more than he had to away from her. She looked over at him and he could tell she was feeling the same way. Ty finally finished getting changed and headed out to roll call, leaving Bosco and Faith the only two in the room.  
  
"God, I missed you," he said as he walked over to her wanting nothing more than to touch her and feel her next to him  
  
"Me too," she said, as she finished getting dressed, not taking her eyes off of him. She was buttoning her shirt when he reached over and stopped her. He gently caressed her and was moving in close when they heard the door to the locker room open and Faith jumped backward, turning her back to him. "Roll call!" Sgt. Christopher called in, letting the door swing closed again without looking so he couldn't see the look of frustration on Bosco's face.  
  
Faith grabbed the rest of her gear and looked at Bosco as she walked past him, brushing against him on her way. A low growl escaped Bosco as he followed her out of the locker room and she laughed.  
  
Just as he had figured, Lt. Swersky had again put Faith with Keith Shore, leaving Bosco to work his shift alone. As they were headed out the door, Swersky called out to Bosco who turned and walked back over to the superior officer.  
  
"Yeah Boss," he said as he reached him. "Boscorelli. I just wanted to let you know that you and Yokas will be teaming back up after tonight. Hutchins is going on 2 weeks' vacation, which leaves Jones without a partner," he said.  
  
"Okay. Thanks Boss," Bosco said as he started to turn and sign out a radio. "Bosco, thanks for keeping out of trouble last night. I hope you can do it for one more night without Yokas there to pull your ass out of a jam," cautioned the Lieutenant.  
  
Bosco just nodded and turned to leave, muttering under his breath. The Lieutenant looked after him. This time HE had the eerie feeling that something was going to happen tonight. "I hope it's that we're gonna catch the jag-off going after our officers and firefighters," the Lieutenant said to himself as he headed to his office.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC...  
Hope this chapter is okay and not too long. I know there wasn't too much action in this one. The next one will be different. 


	6. Chapter 6

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 6  
  
It had been a routine shift for the medics, firefighters and police officers of the 55th Precinct. But then again, everyone knew that the hit and runs didn't occur during the daylight hours. It was getting later and everyone was beginning to be on a higher alert, looking twice before going around to the sides of the vehicles or near the street. They all felt safe at the start of a call - it was when the call had ended - usually an unfounded call - and they were returning to their vehicles that the trouble had started.  
  
The fire department was out at a car accident with a small fire in the middle of 102nd and Lex. There were plenty of spectators watching because it was a beautiful late afternoon and the fire department always seemed to draw a crowd - more so after 9/11. Bosco had traffic closed down on the southside of the accident, parking his unit - 55-Edward - across the intersection, and Faith and Shore were working on the northside out of 55-David. They were each re-routing traffic to the streets around the scene. The crews were cleaning up their equipment.   
  
Boy 55-3 had just left the scene with Doc and Alex to transport the driver of the car with minor injuries to Angel of Mercy. They had just rounded the corner away from the scene when a dark-colored, late model sedan came roaring around the corner nearly running into the side of them. If not for Alex's quick maneuvering they would have collided for sure. Thinking back, she would wish that she had not gotten out of the car's way for if the car hit the ambulance, Doc and Alex would have been somewhat protected by their vehicle and the horrible scene she was now looking at would not have happened.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
As the car came around the corner it was headed straight for the side of the ambulance. Alex yelled back to Doc to hold on and swerved out of the way and slammed on the brakes. Everything seemed to go in slow motion and she saw the damage to the driver's side of the vehicle; the broken headlight, the dented fender and hood, the broken windshield. Kim being thrown through the air and landing on the roadway flashed through her mind and she reached for the radio as she realized that the car was headed right into the accident scene they had just left.  
  
"Boy 55-5 to Central!" she screamed into the microphone. "Notify fire and PD at our call that the hit and run vehicle is heading in their direction at a high rate of speed. Tell them to get out of the way!" she finished as she threw the radio microphone on the seat, put the rig in park and jumped out to run back to the scene. "Alex, come back here!" yelled Doc, but she was already gone. He could only look out the back window of the bus and see her round the corner.  
  
At the same time that Alex was heading back to the scene, the warning went out over the FDNY and NYPD radios. "Central to all units operating at 102nd and Lex. Boy 55-3 reports that suspected hit and run vehicle is coming in your direction at a high rate of speed. Use caution. Repeating. Suspect hit and run vehicle is heading in your direction. Clear the roadway."  
  
Sully and Ty were just finishing up a shoplifter call and were returning to their unit when the announcement came over the radio. They quickly looked at each other, jumped in the RMP and headed off in the direction of 102nd and Lex.  
  
As Alex was running back toward the accident scene, she heard tires screeching and people screaming. Then she heard a terrible crashing sound. She rounded the corner and pulled up short, taking in the awful scene in front of her. She froze momentarily, her brain unable to process what she was seeing. The sound of people calling for help brought her back to the moment and she began to move. She didn't have her portable radio with her, but she ran up to the first radio she could find. She reached down to the unmoving officer on the ground, unclipped the radio from the officer's shoulder, automatically checking for a pulse at the same time and feeling none.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sully and Ty were racing toward the scene along with multiple other units and the Lieutenant, who was responding from the station house.  
  
"What the hell is this guy doing out in the daylight?" yelled Davis to Sully over the noise of their racing engine and siren.  
  
"I don't know, Davis. But I wanna get this bastard! Did you hear who was handling that call?" he yelled back over to Ty.  
  
Then they heard, "Central to 55-David and 55-Edward. What is your status?" There was no answer. "Central to 55-David and 55-Edward, Officers Yokas and Boscorelli. What is your status?" Still no response.  
  
"Dammit!" exclaimed Sully and Davis at the same time as Sully pressed down further on the accelerator.  
  
Finally there was a voice on the radio. "Central, this is Paramedic Alex Taylor. 10-13 Officer down," she said, alarm rising in her voice as she surveyed the scene. "Central! 10-13! We have multiple officers down. We have FDNY down and we have multiple civilians down! We need help here!"  
  
"Central to Medic Taylor. Your message was received. Fire, EMS and PD is enroute," came the response from the dispatcher in a calm manner, trying to help Alex to calm down.  
  
Alex looked back down at the officer, again feeling for a pulse and finding none. She checked for the severity of the injuries and determined that the officer could not be saved. She went on to the next injured person and heard Doc come up behind her. "Jesus! Alex are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, Doc. I'm fine, but look at this," she said, fighting to keep her composure. Doc looked over the scene and started to help Alex triage patients, telling the ones that weren't injured to help care for the least injured until more help arrived. They could hear a heavy onslaught of sirens rapidly approaching.  
  
Alex and Doc heard a car come screeching around the corner and immediately feared the worst - thinking that the hit and run driver was coming back to do more damage. They looked up to see 55-Charlie rounding the corner and screeching to a halt. Ty and Sully jumped from the vehicle and quickly went over to the downed officers, firefighters and civilians.  
  
Ambulances, fire trucks and police cars began swarming the area. "Sully! Over here," called Ty. Sully headed over in Ty's direction as he noticed the dark-colored car lying on its side up against one of the buildings. Ty and Sully drew their weapons and converged on the vehicle. They reached the vehicle and saw that it was empty - the driver had gotten away again.  
  
Ty kicked the vehicle and turned to see Alex, Doc, Carlos and numerous other FDNY personnel working on their own people and on the civilians. They saw Doc covering the body of the dead officer as Lieutenant Swersky arrived on the scene.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC....  
Sorry to leave it like that (not really), but I love a cliffhanger ;) 


	7. Chapter 7

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 7  
  
  
Once they knew that the injured were being taken care of, Sully and Ty started looking among the wounded to see if they could determine if their hit and run driver was among them. From the looks of the inside of the overturned car, the driver was injured - possibly severely. There was blood all over the driver's side door and steering wheel.  
  
The other arriving medics and police officers were handling traffic and the injured from the other side of the accident scene. As Ty made his way through the injured and the curious, he turned to see Alex working on another officer. He saw Doc working on a third officer - both unconscious. He called over to his partner, "Sul! Sully! Over here!"  
  
Sully turned to see where Ty was and by the look on his face he knew that it was urgent. "Maybe he found this bastard," thought Sully angrily as he glanced at the yellow emergency blanket covering the dead fellow officer on his way toward Davis.  
  
"Whatta ya got?" asked Sully as he walked up to Davis and realized what he was staring at. It was the two other officers that had been on the scene of the original accident.  
  
"Oh my God," he said, under his breath. "How bad are they Doc?" he asked.  
  
Doc just shook his head as he gathered another IV and IV setup out of the trauma bag. "Not good," he said simply, never taking his eyes off his patient as he worked quickly.  
  
"Shit," Davis said as he turned away, looking again through the crowds to see if he could somehow figure out which one was the psycho doing this.  
  
Lieutenant Swersky came up behind Sully and Davis and looked down at the two officers from his shift now fighting for their lives. "Better start calling the families over to Mercy," he said to himself, always dreading this task. He turned to Sgt. Christopher and motioned for him to head back to their vehicle so they could return to the station and start making phone calls and arrangements for other officers to pick up the families and escort them to Mercy. This was a task that every officer dreaded, knowing that as soon as the family member saw an officer other than their own standing at their door, they knew tragedy had struck their lives.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
They had loaded the two officers into the same ambulance. Alex was working on one and Doc the other. One of the FDNY guys was driving the ambulance. Luckily, out of all the injured, the only serious injuries were those of the three officers. All the others would have their cuts and minor fractures taken care of and be released home that same night. Hopefully, the two surviving officers would be able to go home also.  
  
Doc was giving the information of his patient to the hospital and Alex was getting another set of vitals on her patient to prepare for her report when Doc was finished.  
  
"Mercy, Boy55-3 is in route to your location with two patients; victims struck by a vehicle. Patient Number 1 is unconscious. According to witnesses on the scene, both victims were hit by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. Vital signs are: BP 90 over 60; pulse rapid and thready; respirations 24. Patient has obvious compound fracture of the left femur and left humerus. Multiple lacerations and bruising with considerable blood loss. Probable internal injuries. We have two large-bore IVs running wide open for fluid replacement and oxygen via a non-rebreather mask at 12 liters per minute. Patient is immobilized on a backboard with cervical collar. Traction splint has been applied to left femur. Left arm is also splinted. Stand by for Patient Number 2," Doc finished as he handed the radio over to Alex.  
  
"Mercy, Patient Number 2 is also unconscious. Vital signs are: BP 90 over 80; pulse rapid and thready, respirations 20. Patient has obvious fractures of the right arm and dislocation of the right knee and ankle. Patient 2 also has a laceration to the right side of the head, above the ear with a hematoma. We have two large bore IVs running wide open. We have the patient immobilized on a backboard with cervical collar. Right arm and leg have been immobilized and patient was put on oxygen at 12 liters per minute via non-rebreather mask. Our ETA is approximately 5 minutes Mercy."  
  
"Boy 55-3 we received your transmission and are standing by," came the reply from the telemetry radio at Mercy.   
  
"10-4 Mercy. Also, be advised that these two patients are police officers so you should be getting quite a crowd. Also, Boy 55-3 is transporting one DOA to your location," advised Doc.  
  
"Received 55-3. We already have quite a crowd," Mercy responded. News traveled fast.  
  
After a few minutes, Boy 55-3 pulled into the emergency entrance of Mercy and maneuvered through the police cars and the cars of the politicians that inevitably show up to 'offer' their support.  
  
The crowd parted to let the medics through with their precious cargo, each trying to get a glimpse of just how bad the officers were injured.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Back at the scene, Sully and Davis were trying to help the crime scene technicians reconstruct what happened with the help of the witnesses.   
  
"Sir, tell me exactly what you saw once the ambulance left the scene with the driver from that car," asked Sully as he gestured toward the car from the original accident.  
  
"Well, the ambulance left and people started to leave, you know, cause all the excitement was over. The fire department was cleaning up their stuff and the cops were still directing traffic. I guess they were waiting for the tow truck to get here," said the man. Sully nodded that he was following him and the man continued.  
  
"Well, the cop that was standing over there," said the man, gesturing toward the south side of the accident scene. "He called over to the other two that were standing at this end - I don't know what he said, but the younger cop walked over to him. Then the older one walked over to here," said the man, gesturing toward the north side of the scene, "and was talking to the lady cop for a minute. Then he walked over to that corner there and was talking to one of the firemen. I didn't see too much after that cause I had to get to work," finished the man.  
  
Sully nodded, "Thanks Sir. You've been a big help. I've got your name and phone number in case we have any more questions for you."  
  
"Yes sir, Officer. I'm sorry about, well you know," said the man, referring to the dead police officer. "Thanks," replied Sully.  
  
Ty was talking to a woman on the other side of the road. The woman was talking quickly and Ty could tell that she was still quite upset at what she'd seen. "Ma'am. I need you to try and calm down and tell me exactly what you saw."  
  
The woman took a deep breath and continued, "Well, I was starting to turn around to walk back to my building when I heard the announcement come over both the police car radios and the firetruck radio. You know, about the car that was coming." Ty nodded his understanding and urged the woman to continue.  
  
"The firemen, they just dropped their equipment where it was and got out of the way. But, some didn't get out of the way soon enough," she said, remembering a couple of the men that got hit when the car came careening around the corner. "Some of them were helping the three police officers to get the people out of the way and back so they didn't get hit. That poor officer - the one that got killed - that poor officer didn't have a chance. The car came around the corner so fast and never slowed down," she said shaking her head sadly. "I heard that terrible sound as the car hit the officer and threw the officer up into the air. I could tell the way the officer landed that - well - that no one could live through that," she finished, her eyes filling with tears again.  
  
Sully was talking to another witness, "After the first officer got hit, the car was aiming for the other officer that was still in the road. The third officer saw what was happening and ran over to knock the other one out of the way. They both got hit - hit hard," said the witness, shaking her head. "Are they gonna be okay?" she asked Sully.  
  
Sully just looked at her solemnly, "We hope so. Thanks for your help." Sully turned back toward Davis and the two officers walked over to the crime scene technicians to give them the information that they had gathered. "Anything come back from running the license plate of the hit and run car?" asked Sully.  
  
The technician shook his head. "The plate was a phony. We ran it anyway, but it came back as not existing. It looked real enough from a distance though. We're running the VIN numbers of the car off the dashboard. Hopefully we'll get some information from that. I'll keep you guys posted. You heading over to the hospital?"  
  
"Yeah, we're going over now," Sully said as he shook hands with the technician and he and Davis turned to head over to the hospital. "We've been doing this too often," said Sully sadly and Ty just nodded his head, not knowing what more to say as they walked over to their RMP.  
  
They took one last look at the scene as they got into their car and drove away. Each rode I silence to Mercy hoping for the best for the injured officers.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC.... 


	8. Chapter 8

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Alex got cleaned up from taking care of the officers and was sitting in the waiting room with the rest of the NYPD and FDNY - or so it seemed. Relatives were coming and going, trying to find out if their relative was late coming home because they were involved in the melee. Luckily there had been no fatalities other than that of the one police officer.  
  
The other two officers were still being assessed by the Emergency Room staff behind the doors. Ty and Sully walked into the waiting area and looked around. They caught site of Sgt. Christopher who was hovering around the Lieutenant waiting for instructions.  
  
"Hey," said Sully as he walked up to the Sergeant. "Sully, Davis. Anything from the crime scene guys yet?" Christopher asked them. "Nah. Nothing yet. The plate was a phony so their running the VIN numbers to see if they can track down the ownership of the car. Any word yet?" Sully asked, referring to the two police officers.  
  
"Nothing yet. But, it's pretty serious. Swersky had me bring the families over just in case. All the families are in that room down the hall waiting for word," said Christopher nodding his head in the direction of the room down the hall with the door closed and blinds drawn.  
  
Davis caught site of Alex and nudged Sully to let him know that he was headed over in her direction. Davis walked over and stood next to Alex who was talking to some of the firefighters from the next shift. She felt his presence and looked in his direction, taking a step away from the group so she could talk to Ty privately.  
  
"How are you doing?" he asked her, worried that she had seen this guy take out people she knew and cared about twice in two days. "I'm okay. I just can't believe it," she said, her eyes wide.   
  
"So, how are they?" he asked her. "They're pretty bad Ty. I honestly don't know which way its gonna go," she said sadly. They stood together silently for a few moments, just watching the staff coming and going from the emergency department. "All in a day's work to them," Ty thought to himself as he looked on.  
  
"Has anyone talked to Jimmy yet?" thought Ty.   
  
"You know, I don't think anyone has. Maybe I'll take a walk up there and see how Kim's doing and let Jimmy know what happened. He'd want to know I think," she said.  
  
"I'll come up with you," offered Ty. The two left to tell their partners where they were going and that they had their radios with them if they were needed.  
  
Riding up in the elevator, Ty noticed Alex sort of shrink into the corner, her eyes filling with tears that she tried desperately to hold back. He moved over to her and put his arms around her. "Let it go Alex. It's okay," he soothed. As the elevator reached its destination she had been able to regain her composure and they stepped off and saw Jimmy at the coffee machine.  
  
"Jimmy," Ty called to him. He looked up from his coffee and smiled. "Hey guys, what's going on?" he asked, not knowing about the tragedy that had again struck the 55th Precinct.  
  
"How's Kim doing?" Alex asked first, not really wanting to tell him. He had enough to worry about right now.  
  
"She's actually a little better," he said with a slight smile on his tired face. He looked like he hadn't left this floor in the past two days. "She's moving around a little, but she hasn't opened her eyes yet. The doctors say that's a good sign - that she's moving around so soon," he explained. "So, what did you guys bring in?" he asked, assuming that they had just brought in some drunk that got hurt or something.  
  
"Um," started Alex, unable to get the words out. She looked down to the floor. "The psycho that hit Kim - he did it again," Ty said, taking the difficult task from Alex.  
  
"What?!" exclaimed Jimmy. "Did you catch the son of a bitch? Did anyone get hurt?" he thought, immediately realizing what a stupid question that was seeing as they were at the hospital.  
  
"Yeah, he plowed into an accident scene we were at," said Alex. "Hit a bunch of civilians and..." she stopped.  
  
"And, what?" Jimmy prodded. "He took out three cops and some firefighters," finished Ty.   
  
"How bad?" he asked, not believing that it had happened again.  
  
"Nothing serious with the firefighters, just a few minor fractures and some cuts and bruises," Alex explained. "But, the cops," she paused. "One is dead and two are critical," she finished.  
  
"Who is it?" Jimmy asked, afraid to know.  
  
"Shore is dead - on impact we think. And Bosco and Faith are critical. They're in the ER right now," Ty reported.  
  
"Jesus!" Jimmy exclaimed. "I gotta get down there," he said. He went in to Kim's room to let her mother know what was going on and that he was going to go down and check on everyone. Kim's mother looked up toward the heavens and crossed herself, saying a silent prayer for those injured in the latest assault.  
  
Jimmy, Alex and Ty got back on the elevator and headed back to the emergency room. As they got off the elevator in the emergency room, they heard silence. For the amount of people in the waiting area, that was not normal. They noticed that all eyes were trained on the door down the hall.  
  
"Oh my God," said Alex, thinking that one or both of the other officers had succumbed to their injuries. Ty quickly looked around for Sully and found him standing just off to the side of the elevator. He walked over to Sully and asked him what was going on. "They're telling Shore's family that he didn't make it," explained Sully in a whisper.  
  
Ty thought back to the awful night when his father had been killed on the job. It was something he would never forget. And then he sadly remembered something that Shore had said to him just the other day before roll call. He and his wife were expecting their first child near Christmas. He was joking about making the cutoff for the tax deduction.  
  
Ty walked over to Jimmy and Alex to fill them in on what was happening and then they heard the unmistakable sound of futures that had just been destroyed as they heard the cries coming from behind the closed door.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In the Emergency Room, Bosco and Faith were separated by a curtain. A team of trauma doctors and staff were working on each of the officers. Orders were being called out and numbers were being read off of monitors and gauges. Equipment was efficiently being brought in, used and then removed from the area.   
  
A chest tube had been placed in the side of Bosco's chest. Although both officers were hurt seriously, Bosco seemed to have absorbed the worst of it. An ultrasound of Faith's abdomen proved negative for any internal bleeding, but she was being sent for a CT Scan to evaluate the injury to her head. The ultrasound of Bosco had proven what the doctor suspected, he was bleeding internally and would be going to the operating room as soon as he was stabilized. The doctors were conferring on the order of things to come. Who would perform what procedure first on each patient. There were medical surgeries to be done as well as orthopedic surgeries to be carried out. The nurses were administering the proper medications to stabilize the patients and then one of the nurses called out to the doctor, "She's coming around, Doctor."  
  
Faith had begun to wake up as her system began to recover from the shock of the injuries with the help of the treatment provided to her. She was trying to reach up with her good arm and remove the mask that was covering her face. She couldn't move her head or sit up because she was still strapped to the backboard until her neck could be cleared by x-ray. The nurse fought with her to leave the mask on, gently talking to her and trying to calm her down. "Officer Yokas. You were hit by a car and are in ER at Mercy. You have some serious injuries, but you're going to be fine. Please just try to relax so you don't hurt yourself further," she said quietly to her.   
  
Faith was having none of it. She knew exactly what had happened and figured that she was in Mercy. She wanted to know how Bosco and Shore were. She remembered watching Shore fly up into the air and land hard. The next thing she knew, Bosco was running toward her as the car rapidly approached her. She turned to run, but tripped over a piece of car wreckage that was by her foot. When she had finally gotten up Bosco had reached her just as the car was upon her. Bosco tried to turn her so that he took the brunt of the impact. If he died because of her clumsiness she could never forgive herself. She didn't know what she would do if she lost him. It had taken them so long to finally find each other.   
  
Faith continued to fight with the nurse until Proctor came over and nudged the other nurse out of the way. She was used to working with injured police officers and knew that the only way they would calm down was to know that their partner was okay, or at least wasn't dead.  
  
Proctor said, "Faith. Calm down. Bosco is alive. He's in the next trauma bay and they're taking good care of him. He's going to need some surgery, but he's still alive," she said, making sure Faith understood what she was saying. Faith calmed a bit, but still wanted to know about Shore. He was her charge, her responsibility. "Shore," she said through the oxygen mask. Proctor hesitated for just a split second too long and Faith had her answer - Shore hadn't made it. Proctor saw the look of sadness and anger come over Faith's face and told her, "It was quick. He didn't feel anything Faith. He didn't suffer at all," she said soothingly.  
  
Just then, Faith heard a bunch of alarms going off on the machines in the next bay and a scurry of activity. "We're losing him!" one of them yelled. Another was giving orders to administer medications.   
  
"Bosco!" Faith yelled through her oxygen mask to her partner. "Bosco, don't you die on me! You fight you stubborn, pigheaded, son of a bitch!" she said, as she removed her oxygen mask so that he could hear her. She kept reaching out her good arm as if trying to reach through the curtain to him. Proctor kept trying to calm Faith down, but Faith kept reaching for him. Finally, Proctor realized what Faith was trying to do. She pulled the curtain open and shoved an intern that was doing nothing but observing out of the way. She pulled Faith's gurney over closer to Bosco's. She grabbed Bosco's hand and brought it over to Faith's hand. Faith grabbed on, instantly knowing that it was her partner's hand.  
  
"You fight Bosco. Do you hear me? Don't you leave me here alone," she said as she squeezed his hand, trying to somehow give him whatever strength she could offer to him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC....  
Hope you are liking this so far. 


	9. Chapter 9

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 9  
  
The vacant building was dark and damp. It smelled terrible - the smell of months, possibly years, of rot and decay permeating the clothes of the lone inhabitant of the building. Even though it was a beautiful, sunny late afternoon, the man woke up shivering from the cold and dampness of his surroundings. Samuel Benson wasn't sure where he was at first and surely didn't know how he had gotten there. Then it all began coming back to him and he smiled.  
  
He reached up to touch his face, feeling the numerous cuts and abrasions crusted with dried blood and dirt. He felt all the aches and pains from the beating that his body took during the collision. He hadn't been sure he would survive the crash, but then he didn't really care anymore. He tried to sit up and immediately felt the pain from his broken ribs and arm. He cried out in pain and quickly quieted himself, not knowing if he was still alone in the abandoned building. He listened intently for a moment to ensure that there was no one else around. Finally, satisfied that he was indeed alone, he continued to try to stand up.  
  
He drew in short, sharp breaths - each one more painful than the previous one. He tried to take a step, but realized that he had no feeling in his right foot. He looked down and saw the dried blood stains about his pant legs and shoes. He pulled up the leg of his pants and saw the reason for the numbness in his foot - there was a large gash just above his ankle and sticking out of it was a jagged shard of metal - probably from the brake pedal that sheared off with the impact of the crash.  
  
He toyed with the idea of just waiting for death to take him. But after a few moments he decided that if he had survived the crash, it was for a reason. He told himself that his work wasn't done yet - more people had to pay. He thought of his beautiful wife and daughter - the two lights of his life. They were gone now - taken from him on that awful night.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It had been a terrible rainstorm. He shouldn't have had them out in the storm. He shouldn't have been driving that night. But he told himself that he only had a bit farther to go and they would be in their new home. And then the worst had happened. He lost control of the car on the rain-slicked road. The car swerved. He had tried to regain control, but he over-corrected. The car slid out of control and just happened to hit the curb on the side of the bridge at the right angle. The car went airborne and over the side, landing in the rain-swollen river below.   
  
He was stunned for a few moments, but when he had regained his senses he felt the cold water rushing in on his legs. He looked over at his wife and then back to his daughter, who was in her car seat in the back of the car. His wife was unconscious, but his daughter was crying hysterically. He couldn't reach her from where he was. He was able to work his seatbelt free. He exited the vehicle on the driver's side with the intention of going around the car and getting his wife and daughter out. But, he hadn't realized that the current would be so swift. He was immediately caught off-guard and swept away from them by the rushing water.  
  
He heard the sirens in the distance over the roar of the water. Thankfully someone had seen the car go over the side and called for help. He was able to reach out and grab hold of some debris on the bank of the river and hold on. Finally, he heard people coming down the bank of the river and calling out to see if anyone was still in the vehicle. He could see by the reflection of the searchlights on the water that the level of the water in the car was rising rapidly. He could still see his daughter in her car seat. She was still crying. He could hear her calling for her Mommy and Daddy. He tried as hard as he could to fight his way back against the current, but he just wasn't strong enough.   
  
"Why aren't the police officers doing anything?!" he thought to himself angrily as he watched them standing on the riverbank. He heard more sirens rapidly approaching. He heard the officers call up to the paramedics that had just arrived, "There's people in the car! Hurry - it's filling with water!"  
  
"What was taking them so long?" he thought frantically. He didn't want to yell out. He didn't want to draw their attention away from his wife and daughter. He wanted them to have their undivided attention. He could hold on as long as he had to, and if he couldn't then at least he knew that his precious family would be safe.  
  
Finally, one of the police officers tried to wade into the water, but he went back. The current was too strong and he couldn't get to the vehicle without getting swept away by the current. The officer thought "What good would it do for him to add more victims to the incident."   
  
The man couldn't hear his daughter yelling anymore as the firefighters brought their equipment down the embankment. They had tied off and rigged up a way to get out to the car. He heard them yell back to those waiting on the riverbank. "There's two in here. They're underwater. We'll have them out in a minute. The driver is missing and the door is open. You better start checking downstream," came the information from the rescuer.  
  
Then he heard a voice just above him, "Here! I have someone hanging on down here. Hurry!"  
  
"No, just save my family!" he cried. Soon he felt himself being dragged from the water. Paramedics were around him. He was quickly covered with blankets and moved into the heated ambulance. He kept asking where his wife and daughter were but no one would tell him. Finally, the ambulance brought him to the hospital. He never saw his wife and daughter alive again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Because they left them there. They gave up on them!" he said, smashing his hand against the wall, bringing himself out of his memory. "And now they have to pay!" he vowed.  
  
The man reached down and pulled the piece of steel from his leg, causing the bleeding to start again. He looked at the date on his watch and thought for a moment. It had been almost 24 hours since he had slammed into the accident scene. He was desperate to find out what kind of damage he had inflicted. He decided that enough time had passed that he could go to the emergency room with some kind of story to explain his injuries without being questioned.  
  
He slowly made his way out of the dilapidated building, noticing the sign that said demolition was scheduled for tomorrow. "Good thing I decided to leave today," he thought to himself. He shielded his eyes from the harsh daylight and immediately received curious stares from passersby on the street. He wandered down the street and was amazed at how long it took someone to offer help to him. Obviously, no one gave a second thought to helping someone that may be less fortunate than themselves.  
  
"Hey, buddy! Are you okay?" asked one young man finally as he walked by. "Do you need an ambulance?" he asked as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket. Samuel grunted to the man that he did need an ambulance. He had thought enough to throw his wallet with his identification away before he came out of the building. No sense taking any chances that they'd be able to connect him with the vehicle that he stole from the junkyard and got running again. He'd just be another vagrant off the streets in the emergency room - the cost of his medical care paid by the City.  
  
In a matter of minutes, there was an ambulance and police car where the young man sat him down. He had gotten him a bottle of water from the corner store and brought it back to him. He asked the man's name, making a mental note to try to repay him someday.  
  
"Sir, do you remember what happened to you?" the black medic was asking him. He looked at the medic's partner and didn't like the look in his eyes. "This one definitely has a chip on his shoulder," Samuel thought to himself.  
  
He answered, "I'm not sure. I think I fell in the building I was sleeping in. I don't remember," he said, trying to sound vague, like he was coming off a 3-day drunk.  
  
"Well, you have some pretty nasty cuts here, Sir," explained the medic. "You need to go to the hospital to have them cleaned out and fixed up. Okay?" he asked. Samuel just nodded his agreement and was loaded into the ambulance.   
  
"Hey Doc," called one of the police officers that had been talking with the man who helped Samuel. "I'll meet up with you at the hospital and get the information off your paperwork. They're banging us for another call," he finished as he rushed off to his RMP without waiting for an answer from Doc.  
  
He let the medic clean up his wounds and do what he had to do in order to give his report to the emergency room staff on arrival. He was wheeled into the emergency room and taken right into a treatment room, where a nurse came in to ask him a bunch of questions.  
She asked him for his name, date of birth and address and he was about to answer when he heard another police officer in the next room talking to one of the doctors. "We were able to trace those prints from the car back to a Samuel Benson. So, if you get anybody in here matching the description on this flyer, give us a call right away. From the looks of the car, he sustained some injuries and might be seeking medical care for them" said the officer before leaving.  
  
"Dammit!" Benson thought to himself. He had forgotten that they would have fingerprints on file for him. He had had to have a background check done for his job with the State five years ago and fingerprinting was one of the requirements.  
  
"Sir, can you hear me?" asked the nurse again. Samuel looked at her and she repeated, "I'll need your name, date of birth and address so we can start a chart on you. Have you ever been seen here before?" she continued.  
  
He shook his head no and answered her questions, "Sam...." he started to say before correcting himself. "Simon Crisafulli," he answered. He finished giving her the rest of the false information she was requesting.  
  
Samuel was examined by the doctor and x-rays were taken. He answered the doctor's questions about how his injuries were sustained. He hoped he was convincing because he was going to be stuck here for a while. The doctor said that he would have to be admitted for surgery to his ankle to repair some damage to the tendons and ligaments.  
  
As Samuel was being wheeled up to his room, he overheard some nurses talking at the desk about the two cops that were run down by the hit and run driver yesterday. One of the nurses said, "Well, you know the one cop was killed at the scene. The other two were brought here. One of them almost checked out right here in the ER, but they were able to stabilize him."  
  
Another continued, "Yeah, I was talking to Annie - she was working on the one that almost died - and she said that it looked like he was really gone, but Mary Proctor - who was working on the other one - suddenly ripped open the curtain between them and helped the female cop grab onto her partner's hand. It was like a miracle because all of a sudden they were able to get him stabilized and then he went up to surgery."  
  
As he was wheeled away to his room, Samuel heard the nurses finish talking with, "and then the female cop was taken up to surgery too. They're both in the ICU, but it looks like they're gonna make it, thank God."  
  
"Well, we'll see about that," thought Samuel to himself as he began plotting his next move.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC....  
Sorry there wasn't too much of the TW gang in this chapter, but I wanted to give you some background on the hit and run driver. Hope it was okay. 


	10. Chapter 10

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 10  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jimmy was sitting at Kim's bedside, dozing lightly. He had just come from the other two rooms in the ICU where his two friends, Faith and Bosco, were. They were still unconscious, Faith mostly because of the pain medications she was receiving, Bosco due to the severe injuries and lengthy surgery he had endured.  
  
Something woke him up, he didn't know what, and he looked over at Kim quickly in hopes that it was her that had disturbed his nap. She lay there, still and sleeping. He looked at her face. It was remarkable how much the swelling had gone down on her face in the last couple of days. When he saw her that first night, he never would have believed that she would look her beautiful self once more. The surgeons had done a remarkable job. You could hardly tell that she had suffered any injuries to her face at all and it looked as though the scars from the surgery were fading already. Suddenly, he realized that he was looking into her eyes - she was looking back at him.  
  
"Kim?!" he said, jumping up from his chair. "Can you hear me Kim?" he said a little calmer this time. He reached over and pushed the call button for the nurse. She didn't answer him, but just looked at him and he could see the smile in her eyes. He knew that she recognized him.   
  
"Kimmy, just hold still. You were in an accident, but you're gonna be okay. The doctor will be in here in a minute to check you over," he explained to her and noticed that she was trying to say something, the wiring of her broken jaw preventing her from opening her mouth.  
  
"Kim, your jaw was broken and they had to wire it, so you can't talk right now. But it's okay. You're going to be okay," he said, gently putting his hand on the side of her face and brushing a lone tear from the corner of her eye just before it escaped down her cheek.  
  
The nurse came to the door and Jimmy told her that Kim was awake. The nurse came in and did a few tests to determine just "how awake" she was. "Welcome back, Ms. Zambrano," the nurse said smiling. "I'll go get the doctor for you." With that the nurse left and returned a few moments later with the doctor. He asked Jimmy to step out so that he could examine Kim to determine her neurological status without any distractions for her.  
  
Jimmy walked out into the hallway and over to Kim's mother. "Kimmy's awake," he told her happily. "The doctor's in with her now, checking her out. But, you can go back in as soon as he comes out," he said, knowing that she would want to see for herself.   
  
After calling Joey had his mother's house, Jimmy walked over to the other end of the waiting area where Bosco's mother and Fred Yokas were sitting to let them know that Kim had woken up. They were truly happy for him and wished only the best for Kim.  
  
Angela Boscorelli had been there ever since they had brought her son into the emergency room. She was there through the terror of his fight for life and it seemed to have aged her. She was exhausted, but just couldn't bring herself to go home. Bosco's brother Mikey had tried to convince her to leave - even for just a little while. He told her that he would stay right here until she got back and would call her if anything had changed, but she refused. So Mikey had brought her clean clothes from home and food from the cafeteria that went largely untouched. Thankfully, Mikey had gotten his act together and was straight. He was able to take over the day-to-day operation of the bar for his mother so that she could stay right here where she felt she belonged. Mikey would come at night after the bar closed to check on his brother and try to talk his mother into going home again.  
  
Fred had come to the hospital initially, but had only been there sporadically since then. He mostly was there because his kids wanted to know how their mother was when they returned home from school. Fred would come over or call in the morning before work so that he could check on Faith's condition. Then, he would come home to find the kids quietly working on their homework so he would take them to the hospital in the evening after dinner. The kids understood that their mother and father were no longer together. Fred had explained to them that he would always love their mother, and hated seeing her like this, but that they just couldn't live together anymore. The kids were just glad that the bickering was over and noticed that each of their parents seemed happier than they had in a long time.  
  
At the hospital, the kids would sit with their mother, talking to her, telling her about their day at school. Emily would give Faith updates on the cute boy she had a crush on in school. Every once in a while, Faith would move a little, almost like she wanted to wake up. But she couldn't because of all the medication and the rest that her body needed to heal, the doctor explained to them. Maybe in a couple of days they could lighten the medication. They hoped that she would wake up soon. Fred would take them home around 9:30 so that they could get to bed and do the same thing all over again the next day.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco had survived his near death in the emergency room and the doctors and nurses gave the credit to his partner who refused to let go of him until he was stabilized. Somehow, she had reached him and he had fought back. He underwent surgery to repair his femur fracture, ruptured spleen and various other abdominal injuries. His lung had re-inflated, although remained badly bruised, after the blood was evacuated from his chest through the chest tube, and it was determined by x-ray that his ribs would heal nicely on their own. He was in pretty serious condition, but was expected to eventually make a full recovery.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The doctor came out from examining Kim and was talking to Jimmy and Kim's mother in the hallway as Alex and Ty got off the elevator.  
  
"Oh, please don't let that be bad news," Alex whispered to Ty as they walked toward Jimmy and Mrs. Zambrano. Ty reached over and held onto Alex's hand. Jimmy saw them coming out of the corner of his eye and saw the look of worry on Alex's face.  
  
"Kim's awake," Jimmy said excitedly. Alex let out an audible sigh of relief and went to sit down and wait for Jimmy to be done talking to the doctor.  
  
After a few moments, Jimmy came over to fill in Ty and Alex on Kim's condition.  
"The doctor said that Kim doesn't seem to have any permanent neurologic deficits from the injury to her head. He said that everything looks to be healing nicely and that it's a matter of time before everything is healed. She'll need some physical therapy, but the news is good," he finished.  
  
Alex leaned over and gave Jimmy a hug. "That IS good news Jimmy. I'm so glad she's gonna be okay. So, is she awake now? Do you think I could just peek in for a minute?" she asked.  
  
"Sure," answered Jimmy and they both started to walk toward her room. Ty stood up and said, "Alex, I'm just gonna wander down to where Faith and Bosco are and see if I can find out anything."  
  
"Okay Ty. I'll meet you down there in just a minute. Unless you want to wait and I'll go down with you?" she offered, knowing that Ty was very nervous about hospitals. "No, it's okay. You go see Kim and tell her I said 'Hey.'"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Ty walked into Bosco's room and saw that his mother was sitting beside his bed flipping through a magazine. He quietly cleared his throat to let her know that he was there and she looked up.  
  
"Hello. Officer Davis, right?" she asked, standing up and walking over to him to introduce herself. "I'm Angela. Maurice's mother," she said, holding out her hand. Ty nodded and reached out to shake her hand.  
  
"Ty. Ty Davis. So, how's he doing?" he asked her, nodding toward the sleeping form in the bed.  
  
Angela sighed and answered, "Pretty much the same. The doctors all say that he is doing well, but I'll feel better once he wakes up. They keep saying that it's just his body's way of healing him faster."  
  
"Uh huh," Ty said, looking over at his friend again. Angela asked if Ty would hang around for a few minutes because she wanted to run down to the cafeteria. "Sure, no problem. Take your time," he answered her. She thanked him and turned to leave the room, not really wanting to go to the cafeteria, but sensing that Ty wanted some time alone with her son.  
  
She looked back through the window as she rounded the doorway to Bosco's room and paused, watching the young officer approach her son's bed. Ty just stood next to the bed for a moment, just looking at his friend. Angela went down the hall to check on Kim and then Faith to give Ty some time.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"So Bos, man," he started then paused again. "It's time to wake up," he said, not knowing whether he could hear him or not. "Faith's gonna be okay. You saved her life. The witnesses told us how you put yourself between her and the car. You did a good thing, but now its time for you to wake up and get back to work," he finished, putting a hand on his friend's arm.  
  
He pulled his hand away quickly as he felt Bosco jump slightly under his touch. Ty looked at his face and noticed the all-too-familiar frown - something he'd seen quite often when he'd done something stupid or too compassionate in Bosco's eyes.  
  
"Bos? Can you hear me?" he asked, louder this time, while putting his hand back on Bosco's arm. Bosco stirred slightly, moving his good leg as if he was trying to get away from something. "C'mon, Man. Open your eyes and talk to me," he urged him. Slowly he noticed Bosco's eyes open and look in his direction.  
  
"Bosco?" Davis said, trying to determine if he was indeed awake.  
  
"Davis," came the whisper from Bosco, his throat dry. "Where's Faith?" he asked immediately. "Where is she?" he repeated the question again, louder this time.  
  
"She's okay, Bosco. She's just in the other room. She's hurt, but she's gonna be okay. You saved her life," he said, gently putting a hand on Bosco's shoulder to get him to relax. "Let me go get the doctor. He can tell you anything you wanna know," Ty said as he left the room to go to the nurse's station.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Angela had checked with Jimmy on Kim's condition and was thrilled at her progress. She peeked her head into Kim's room to wish her well and update her on Bosco and Faith's condition and then headed to Faith's room to check on her. She would give Bosco regular updates on his friends, trying to talk to him, not knowing whether he could hear her or not. But, in her heart she knew that Bosco could hear her.  
  
Angela walked into Faith's room and saw that she was alone. She silently cursed Fred to herself for leaving Faith by herself when it was obvious that she needed someone to help her come back. She knew that Maurice would have been that person if only he could. She took Faith's hand in her own and vowed that she would take Maurice's place for now and split her time between the two - until Maurice was able to be with Faith himself. She had knows for a long time about her son's feelings toward Faith - even if he didn't tell her himself. She could see it every time he looked at her. Even when the whole gang would stop by after work for a few drinks, Maurice always had one eye on Faith, making sure that she was safe and happy. He hated it when she was unhappy - something that had happened quite frequently right before she and Fred had split. On more than one occasion Angela had come across Maurice, tucked away in a dark corner of the bar, brooding. She knew exactly what it was about. She would just put her hand on his shoulder, or rake her fingers through the back of his hair, just above his neck, the way she used to when he would wake up with a nightmare. It always put him back to sleep in a matter of minutes.   
  
She noticed through the window that Ty had come out of her son's room and that a doctor and nurse were hurrying into the room. She immediately became alarmed. She gently squeezed Faith's hand and left, hurrying back to Maurice's room. Ty grabbed her by the elbow and held her back. "It's okay. He's awake. The doctor just wants us to wait here while he checks him over. He's awake and he's talking - and he's pissed," he added with a slight smirk.   
  
Angela smiled, "Well, if he's pissed then I know he's fine." They both eagerly awaited the doctor's return as Alex walked around the corner.   
  
"Hey, what's up?" she asked Ty, glancing and nodding hello to Angela at the same time.  
  
"Bosco's just woke up," he told her. "I was talking to him and all of a sudden he just got that sneer on his face and opened his eyes."  
  
"Did he say anything?" asked Angela.   
  
Ty nodded, "Yeah, he looked right at me with that pissed-off look on his face and wanted to know where Faith was. Nothing else, just 'where's Faith, Davis.'"  
  
The doctor came out and they all had to move aside as another patient was moved into the other bed in Bosco's room. The doctor told everyone that Bosco seemed to be doing very well. He got a worried look on his face and said, "But, I'll tell you. If someone doesn't calm him down and explain to him that he can't get up yet, we're going to have to medicate him again. His body needs the time to heal and I don't want him ripping any stitches out."  
  
"I'll talk to him, Doctor," Angela assured him. "We all will," added Alex.  
  
Alex and Ty decided to go over and see how Faith was doing. Angela was told that she would have to wait outside while the new patient was settled-in.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... Hope you are still enjoying this. 


	11. Chapter 11

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 11  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Finally, Angela was allowed in to see her son. The other patient was finished being settled in and a nurse was checking Bosco's wounds to make sure he hadn't pulled any sutures loose.  
  
"Officer Boscorelli," Angela heard the nurse saying "You really need to be still. You can't walk anyway because you broke your leg. You don't want to end up having to have the surgery all over again do you?" she chastised.  
  
"No, what I want...." Bosco started impatiently before being interrupted by his mother.  
  
"Maurice Boscorelli! You just stay still and do what the doctors and nurses are telling you to do," she finished, faking an angry look. He looked at his mother, head bowed, as if he were eight years old again, being yelled at for breaking something or not being home on time.  
  
"But Ma, they won't tell me anything. I have to know if Faith's okay," he said pleadingly.  
  
"I just came from Faith's room. I'll tell you anything you want to know and if I don't know then I'll find out for you. Just please stay still. You've been through a terrible time. You need to get your strength back if you're going to help Faith," Angela finished as Bosco calmed down. The nurse finished up, nodded her thanks, and headed out of the room.  
  
Angela walked over to Bosco and leaned over to give him a gentle hug, not knowing exactly where he was still sore. "So, how are you feeling, Maurice?"  
  
"I hurt everywhere," he groaned, again turning into a little boy under his mother's touch. "But I need to know about Faith, Ma. I need to know what's going on."  
  
"Faith is still unconscious. She had a blow to the head, but the doctors did a scan and they seem to think she'll be fine," she finished quickly, noticing the upset look on Bosco's face as he heard that his partner had a head injury.   
  
"What else?" he asked. "Well, I think she has a broken arm and I think something with her leg or ankle - I'm not sure. But, I'll make sure I find out everything for you, okay?" she answered him. He nodded his head and looked over at the man in the next bed.  
  
"What's with this guy?" he asked Angela, noticing something familiar about him.  
  
"I don't know," she answered. "They were just bringing him onto the floor as the doctor was in with you."  
  
"Kim Zambrano woke up today," said Angela. "Jimmy Doherty said the news is good - that she should make a full recovery, but that it will take a little while."  
  
"That's good. I still see her flying through the air," Bosco said, glancing over to the man in the next bed again. He just couldn't seem to let go of the fact that he felt like he'd seen him somewhere before.  
  
"Maurice, why don't you just lay back and get some rest. I'm gonna go call Mikey and let him know your awake. He's been great. He's been running the bar ever since you were here," she said proudly.  
  
"How long have I been here? What day is it?" he asked, suddenly realizing that it was light outside the window. "A few days, honey," answered Angela, putting her hand on the side of his face lovingly. "You gave us quite a scare, you know. But Faith wouldn't let you go. She grabbed onto your hand in the emergency room and just kept yelling at you to fight. Somehow you heard her, thank God," she finished, tears springing to her eyes.  
  
"I felt her holding my hand," Bosco said quietly, closing his eyes and falling asleep again.  
  
Angela kissed her son's forehead and left the room to go tell Mikey the good news.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Alex and Ty were in Faith's room and Alex was holding onto Faith's hand. "Faith, you have to fight to wake up. Bosco's okay. You pulled him through. Now you have to fight too."  
  
"And Kim woke up today," added Ty. "So, now it's your turn."  
  
Faith slept peacefully.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"DAVIS!" came Bosco's voice from across the hall. "DAVIS! Get in here," he yelled again.  
  
Alex sighed, "Back to his old self," she said sarcastically as Ty left to go see what he wanted. "You see, Faith? You have to save us. You're the only one that can handle Boscorelli," Alex said to Faith and looked back over her shoulder as Ty walked out of the door.  
  
"Bosco saved me," came the quiet voice and Alex jumped. "Faith?!" Alex said, shocked.  
  
"Faith, can you hear me?" Alex asked again. "Yeah, where's Bosco? Is he okay? Where is he Alex?" Faith asked impatiently.  
  
"Bosco is across the hall, Faith. He's gonna be okay. He's banged up like you, but he's gonna be fine. Let me get the doctor for you," Alex said and Faith nodded as Alex left to get the doctor.  
  
Alex stuck her head in the doorway to Bosco's room and called in, "Faith's awake and talking. I'm getting the doctor."  
  
Ty and Bosco looked at each other and Bosco called, "FAITH!? Can you hear me?" Yelling caused his ribs to hurt, but he didn't care. He needed to hear her voice. "FAITH!"  
  
"Yeah, Bos," came the weak reply. "I hear ya'. Now will you shut-up. I have a terrible headache."  
  
"Oh, that old excuse," he called back over to her. The nurse came into the room quickly.  
  
"Now, Officer Boscorelli, you really must remember that you have another person in the room with you. Please keep your voice down," she admonished as she went around his bed to check on the sleeping man on the other side of the room.  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot," he answered, making a mocking face at Ty who then chuckled. "You're bad, man. You're bad," Ty said.  
  
"You don't know the half of it, Davis," he replied, letting his head fall back on the pillows as he quickly tired.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alex returned with the doctor and a nurse and was asked to wait outside while they checked Faith over. Alex told Ty that she was going to go see if Fred was in the waiting room.   
  
"What's that idiot doing here?" asked Bosco angrily.  
  
"He's been here to bring the kids and to check on her condition for the kids," explained Ty.  
  
"Oh," said Bosco, not wanting Fred anywhere near Faith. "Is the doctor done with Faith yet? Go check Davis. And tell that doctor that I want to talk to him too," he yelled after Ty. The nurse immediately shushed him again.   
  
Bosco sneered at the nurse, "Yeah, sorry again. What's his name anyway? I swear I've seen him before."  
  
The nurse glanced at the chart and answered Bosco, "Says his name is Simon Crisafulli. Sound familiar?"  
  
"Mmm, nope," he said, looking over at the man again. "But I know him from somewhere."  
  
"Well, just relax and think about it. I'm sure it'll come back to you, Maurice," said the nurse. "Please, call me Bosco," he said.  
  
"I thought your name was Maurice," she said, raising an eyebrow and looking at the chart next to his bed. "Only my Ma calls me Maurice," he said with a grimace. "Oh, okay.... Bosco. Do you need anything right now?" she replied.  
  
"I just need to know how my partner is. Maybe they can put her in here and put him over there," he said hopefully. "This ward isn't co-ed Bosco," said the nurse as she walked out into the hall.   
  
"She's not a girl - she's my partner!" he called after her.  
  
"Hey, I heard that Bosco!" he heard Faith call across the hallway. "Sorry. You know what I mean," he said laughing. It was good to hear her sarcastic mouth again.  
  
At the nurse's station, the doctor and nurses all looked at each other. "You know the only way we're going to get them to shut-up is to put them in the same room," said the nurse that had just come from Bosco's room. "I know, I know," said the doctor. "Make it so. Hopefully, the Admissions Board won't bring me up on charges, but if it means getting some peace and quiet in the ICU then so-be-it."  
  
About an hour later, Bosco and Faith were being put in the same room. Because of all the wires and stuff still connected to Bosco, it was easier to move Faith. First, they brought Simon Crisafulli into Faith's room and got him settled on the other side of the room. While they were settling him in, Faith couldn't help but notice how familiar he looked. She asked his name and was told. Then she asked if he was one of the victims of the hit and run driver they were hit by.   
  
The nurse looked at the chart and said, "No, says here he's homeless and was brought in by FDNY with multiple cuts, bruises, broken ribs and wrist, and a piece of metal in his ankle for an unknown duration of time. He's here because of the infection caused by the foreign object. Doesn't say how the metal got - oh wait, it says he fell through a floor in an abandoned building he was living in. But, you didn't hear that confidential patient information from me," said the nurse with a wink and a smile.   
  
"What information?" said Faith with a smile. "I don't know a thing."  
  
As they wheeled Faith's bed out of the room, she couldn't help but look again at the man. "I know him from somewhere. I've seen him recently," she thought to herself, trying to think where she could have seen him before.  
  
As they brought Faith into the room, she looked over and saw Bosco sound asleep. "Well, that's a fine thing. He has company and he can't even stay awake long enough," she joked with the nurses.  
  
"He did try, but the medication was too strong for him. He overdid it today and the doctor wanted him to get some rest so he ordered something to knock him out for a while," answered one of the nurses. "How are you doing? Do you need any pain medicine, because you can have more now if you need it."  
  
"You know, I could use a little something for this ankle and arm," Faith conceded. Soon after she was settled, Faith fell asleep also.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"BOSCO! Fight, damn it! You have to fight. Do you hear me?"  
  
Bosco woke with a start as a nurse came running into the room, expecting to see Bosco in some sort of distress. She looked quickly at Bosco and saw that he was just as puzzled as she was. He was asleep when Faith was moved into his room and didn't realize she was there. Finally, they realized that the yelling was coming from Faith as she started to yell again. She was dreaming.  
  
The nurse tried to gently wake her, but she was too tuned into the dream. "Pull her over here," said Bosco. "Just pull her closer," he ordered. The nurse remembered hearing about what happened between the two in the emergency room and immediately moved Faith's bed closer to Bosco.  
  
Bosco reached, causing him to grunt out loud as the pain shot through his broken ribs. He grabbed Faith's hand and said, "Faith, it's me. I'm okay. Just wake up Faith. I'm right here." Faith calmed at his touch and opened her eyes.   
  
"What? What happened?" she asked, unsure what was going on. "You were having a dream, Faith," answered Bosco calmly. "But it's okay. We're both okay," he said laying back against his pillows again.  
  
"Ah, jeez. I'm sorry Bos," said Faith, somewhat embarrassed by her yelling. "I'm sorry," she said to the nurse who was smoothing out her covers, checking her IV lines and checking her vital signs. The nurse shrugged it off, "Don't worry about it Officer Yokas. It's not a problem. Now, do you need anything? Maybe some water? I'm sorry but you can't have anything to eat just yet."  
  
"Water's fine. Thank you," she said as the nurse poured her a cup of ice water from the pitcher at the side of her bed.  
  
"Now let's make sure you didn't rip anything lose, Bosco," she said turning to him.   
  
"Oh, I'm uh... I'm okay," he said as she started to check his dressings and IV lines. "I'll just take a set of vitals as long as I'm here. You're about due for that anyway. Do you need anything? Unfortunately, you can't even have water yet," she sad in an apologetic tone.  
  
"No, I don't need anything," he answered, looking over at Faith to make sure she was okay. She was laying back against the pillows with her eyes closed, but he could tell that she wasn't asleep. He'd seen her do that in the RMP when she was trying to regain her composure after a particularly hairy call or one involving a kid. She hated the ones involving kids. The nurse finished up and left the room.  
  
Bosco looked at Faith for a moment, taking in every perfect feature. "I'm sorry, Faith," he said quietly and she opened her eyes and looked over at him. "About what?" she said, not knowing what he was referring to.  
  
"About not getting you out of the way. I'm sorry that you got hurt," he finished.  
  
"Bosco. You saved my life!" she said, smiling. "You almost died because of me. I thought I was going to lose you down in the ER. I was so scared," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
"When I saw that car coming at you I was so scared, Faith. I almost couldn't move. Maybe if I moved quicker we both would have gotten out of the way in time," he said.  
  
"No, Bos. It was me. I froze and you saved me," she said again. She sat forward and reached out to take his hand in her own. "You didn't freeze Faith. You were getting that little kid out of the way. You didn't freeze," he reminded her. "I don't remember that," she said slowly. "Must be from the head injury," she said, shrugging.  
  
They just sat in silence for a few moments, still holding hands. It was so peaceful, neither wanted to let go. Then Bosco said so very quietly, "I felt you. Down in the ER. I felt you hold my hand Faith. I could feel myself leaving and then I felt your hand and heard your voice and I didn't want to leave. I never want to leave you Faith," he said, a tear rolling down the side of his face. He looked over to her and saw that she was crying too.   
  
"I love you too Bosco," she said.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC..... Hope this wasn't too sappy for you. Please let me know if I should keep going or wind this puppy up quicker. Thanks. 


	12. Chapter 12

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 12  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The crime scene detectives were in the police impound garage going over every inch of the car from the hit and run cases. Every piece was removed, labeled, checked for fingerprints or any other identifying marks, and laid out on the floor in an orderly fashion. In other separated piles were pieces of evidence recovered from the scenes of all three attacks. They were systematically being compared and either retained or discarded, depending on the outcome of their inspection.  
  
Lieutenant Swersky was with the detectives in the office of the impound garage. "Maybe you don't understand, Detective Grady. I have one officer dead with a kid on the way who'll never get to meet his father, two officers finally upgraded to serious condition, one out with a broken leg, one medic still hospitalized, and countless other medics, firefighters, and civilians injured. I've got the Mayor of New York, the Chief of Police, the Assistant Chief of Police, the Precinct Commander, the Captain, the Civil Rights people, the police and fire unions and a host of others - not to mention my WIFE - crawling up my ass everyday for answers!" he yelled, getting louder and more red in the face with each word. Sgt. Christopher had been worried that the Lieutenant was going to have a heart attack - he'd been trying to field the phone calls, but after a while it was impossible. They wanted to speak to his boss - NOW!  
  
"Lieu. I know you need answers. I need answers. Because, believe me, when all those people get off the phone with you, they're dialing up my number! We're doing everything that we know how to do. It takes time to run down leads. Believe me, every man, woman and rookie in this impound wants to find the bastard responsible for this just as much as you do. When I have answers, you'll have answers!" finished the Detective, just as tense as the Lieutenant.  
  
The Lieutenant took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he raked his fingers through his hair. "I know you're working as hard as you can Joe. I'm sorry. It's just that - how did my wife get your number?" he asked, cracking the first smile of the day. The men all laughed. The Lieutenant knew they were doing their best and Detective Grady knew that the Lieutenant was just blowing off steam. Hell, he'd just done the same thing not an hour before to one of his men, who in turn did it to one of his men, and so on down the line. After a moment of watching the technicians work meticulously on the car, the Lieutenant turned to Detective Grady, remembering something the Detective had said earlier. "What do you mean 'running down leads'? What leads do you have?"  
  
The Detective let out a heavy sigh. "We don't have much. We ran down the VIN [vehicle identification number] off the dashboard and traced the car as far as a Mr. William Burton in Queens. He's a 75-year-old retired plumber. Says he junked the car about six months ago. My partner's on the way out to the junkyard. If the car was taken out of the junkyard, hopefully it was bought for parts or something and they have a record of it - or if the Gods are smiling on us, a name and address. If it was stolen out of the yard, then who knows how long ago that was," he finished, giving the Lieutenant a doubtful look.  
  
A grease-covered technician walked into the office with a piece of metal in his hand and a wry smile on his face. "Detective, Lieutenant - I think I may have something here," he said smugly.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The doctor was just finishing up with Faith's examination, having already completed his check of Bosco's condition. "Well, you two. You're both coming along nicely. We're going to move you each to a regular room tomorrow and get you started on some physical therapy," he said, looking at each officer to see if they had any questions.  
  
"Great," said Bosco, although he didn't like the idea of being separated from Faith again. He didn't like it when Fred came in because he could feel the tension between him and Faith. And Fred didn't hesitate to take a jab at Bosco any chance he could seeing as Bosco wasn't able to get up and kick his ass.   
  
But, he did like it when Charlie and Emily were there. Faith was worried that they were too noisy or rambunctious around Bosco, but he assured Faith that he didn't mind at all. He liked listening to the stories from school and he tried not to listen when Faith was giving Emily advice about her school crush, but couldn't help chuckling to himself about it. Charlie would climb up into the bed with him to watch whatever game happened to be on and occasionally Bosco would help him finish some of his homework.  
  
"Yeah, great," repeated Faith. She didn't like the idea of being separated from Bosco either. She had almost lost him in the ER and she really didn't think she could stand to lose him now that they were getting so close. They had to take it slow, both because of the kids and because they were both afraid of screwing up. After all, Bosco didn't have the best record and Faith had been brainwashed by Fred that she was to blame for all their problems. Bosco was so good with the kids and they really loved him. She wondered how they would handle it if things got more serious - would they be resentful, thinking that Bosco was trying to replace their father?  
  
The two officers were brought out of their thoughts by the sound of someone entering the room. It was Jimmy Doherty. He was pushing Kim in a wheelchair. She was on her way back from x-ray and therapy and wanted to stop in and see how her two friends were doing.  
  
"Hey Kim," said Faith with a smile. "How's it goin'?" asked Bosco, smiling and nodding his head in acknowledgement of Jimmy.  
  
"She's doing great," answered Jimmy because Kim still had her jaw wired. She had a dry-erase board that she carried with her so that she could relay information if she needed and she was busily writing on the board. She held the board up and Faith read, 'Doing a lot better. Thanks Faith for helping out that night and you too Bos for your help."  
  
"Aw Kim. I'm just glad that you made it. You really gave us a scare I gotta tell you," said Faith. Kim had erased the message and was writing more. She held up the board.  
  
'Glad I don't really remember it - the actual accident. Only remember seeing the car coming at me too late. Glad you guys are okay too.'  
  
"You're not the only one that didn't see it. I was sitting right there and didn't see it until it was too late," said Bosco, again feeling guilty for not warning Kim faster. He saw Kim flying through the air and landing with a sickening thud on the ground alongside his patrol car every night in his sleep. He had woken Faith up more than once with that dream. Faith tried to convince him that there was no way anyone could have seen it any sooner.  
  
Jimmy looked down and saw that Kim was getting tired. It was only her first therapy session and they gave her a pretty good workout. "Well, I better get her highness back so she can take her 'Happy Nappy," said Jimmy teasingly. Kim smacked him with the board and waved goodbye to Faith and Bosco.  
  
"I'm glad they seem to be working things out," said Faith watching as they went by the window of their room.  
  
"Yeah, its about time Doherty smartened up," added Bosco.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco and Faith had both dozed off while watching the soap opera Faith had badgered Bosco into turning on. A light rapping on the door woke them up and they looked over to see Doc and Carlos in the doorway.  
  
"Hey Doc, Carlos. How's it going?" asked Bosco, pushing the button to raise the bed slightly.  
  
"Hey. How are you guys doing?" asked Doc. "The nurses in the ER are hearing through the grapevine that you two are being impossible."  
  
"Uh, make that ONE of us is being impossible. I swear he's not happy unless he has something to complain about. I'm surprised they haven't tried to wire HIS jaw shut," said Faith teasingly.  
  
"So you guys don't look like you need the ICU anymore," commented Carlos. "When are they moving you to a regular room?"  
  
"Sometime tomorrow supposedly," answered Bosco. "At least they won't be waking us up at all hours during the night to see if we're sleeping," he continued, anger in his voice.  
  
"Yeah, and I'm sure they enjoy listening to you mouth off all night too, Bos," said Faith.  
  
"Hey Doc. Do you know who brought in the guy - what's his name Faith, the one in your old room?" asked Bosco.  
  
"Ummm, Crisafulli, I think. Yeah - Simon Crisafulli," she answered.  
  
"That's the guy from the abandoned building. The one with the metal piece sticking out of his ankle. Yuck!" Carlos reminded Doc, shuddering at the thought of that sight again.  
  
"Oh yeah, that was us. Why?" asked Doc.  
  
"He just looks really familiar to us and we can't remember from where," explained Bosco. "I know it was something recent, but I can't remember," he finished, Faith nodding her agreement.  
  
"Not much to tell. He said he was homeless and living in an abandoned building. Said it was dark and he stepped on a rotten piece of floor and down he went," Doc recalled.  
  
"And he seemed on the level to you?" asked Bosco, still not convinced that there wasn't more to the story.  
  
"Seemed to be," Doc said. "But I didn't really get too talkative with the guy. He was really quiet. Kept looking around the ambulance, almost like he really didn't want to be there."  
  
"Well, I don't know many people that have to ride in an ambulance that enjoy being there," said Faith. "That's true," agreed Carlos.  
  
"Well, we just wanted to check in on you guys. We better get back out there. Take care guys - glad you're doing better," said Doc as Carlos waved his good-bye.  
  
"Yeah - thanks guys," said Faith as she looked over at her partner and saw that he had a frown on his face.  
  
"Bos? What's wrong?" she asked him, concerned that maybe he was hurting.  
  
"What? Oh, nothing. It's just bugging me about that guy," he said. "My gut is just telling me that there's more to him," he finished.  
  
"Maybe your gut is just telling you that it wants more than clear broth," said Faith as their dinner trays were brought in. Bosco sat up and tried to change the subject.  
  
"So, do you think they'll put us in separate rooms tomorrow?" he asked Faith.   
  
"I don't know Bos. I hope not. But, if they do, we can always yell across the hall to each other again. Maybe they'll give in and put us together again," and they both laughed.  
  
"Well, if they put us apart, make sure that the kids stop in and say hello to me," Bosco said, immediately realizing that there was no way that Fred would bring them to see him.  
  
"I'll make sure Emily and Charlie insist on it," Faith assured him, knowing what he was thinking. "Emily can throw one wicked tantrum when given the proper motivation," she added with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, I think I remember you telling me about those," Bosco replied.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"So, what have you got Johnson?" asked Detective Grady as the technician stood before him with what looked to be part of a car in his hand.  
  
"Well, Sir. This is a portion of the brake pedal. As you can see, the pedal is intact, with the exception of the rubber pad that covers the pedal. You see this rod that comes off the pedal and runs up under the dash and connects to the brake?" he asked without waiting for an answer. "Well, you can see that the pedal was sheared off during the collision, probably a weak spot in the metal. There were a few substances on the sheared-off end of this shaft; one of which appeared to be blood. I took samples and ran them through the lab. I just got the results," Johnson finished.  
  
A moment went by and both the Lieutenant and Detective Grady, as well as Sgt. Christopher, all said, "AND???"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Well, it is indeed blood. Additionally, there were traces of bone fragments, muscle and tissue, as well as fibers - probably from pants or socks that the guy was wearing. So, it looks like whoever was driving this car sustained a pretty significant injury to either his foot or ankle. I've gone through everything in the car and the other half of the metal shaft is nowhere to be found," he said proudly, knowing that he had come up with the only possible lead so far in the case. He could see the wheels of promotion turning in his head.  
  
Just then, Detective Grady's pager went off, startling everyone in the room. He glanced down at the number and recognized it as his partner's cell phone number. "That'll be Gibbons over that the junkyard," he said, excusing himself to call his partner back and telling Johnson not to say another word until he returned.  
  
Detective Grady finished talking to his partner and returned to the group. "There's no record of the car being sold off out of the yard, but the owner swears he saw the car there as late as the end of last week. So that makes it stolen recently. He remembered some guy hanging around and asking if any of the cars he had actually ran. He showed the guy a couple, the stolen one included, and says the guy left without buying one of them," he finished.  
  
"So, back to what you were saying, Johnson," he said, shifting the attention back to this newest piece of evidence.  
  
"Well, Sir," Johnson began. "I took samples of the blood and tissue and had them run for DNA properties. That way if we ever find the guy, we'll be able to prove that he was in the car. I also took samples of the fibers so that we have them on file as well," he finished up.  
  
"Okay, Johnson. Great job. Thanks. Keep us posted if you find out anything else," said Grady.  
  
"Sure thing. Oh and, Detective. The piece of this pedal that's missing is a pretty good size. This guy must have needed some medical attention. If he didn't get it initially, chances are he has one hell of an infection brewing - if it didn't kill him already," said Johnson as he left the room.  
  
"I guess I'll head over to the hospitals to let them know to be on the lookout for this guy coming in for treatment," Detective Gibbons said, a little more hope in his voice.  
  
Lieutenant Swersky said, "I'll take care of getting the information out to all the burroughs at briefing."  
  
The Lieutenant reached out to shake Grady's hand as the Detective's pager went off again. "Jesus! I'm getting a new number," he said rolling his eyes. He looked again and saw that it was the secretary in his office. "Hang on in case this is about our case," he said, holding up a finger to the Lieutenant.  
  
Detective Grady hung up the phone and with a big smile said, "Another lucky break. Apparently the guy that was driving the car has fingerprints on file because he had some top secret government job at one time. His name is Samuel Benson and they're faxing over his prints and file."  
  
"Great. Can you fax me over a copy also please, Joe?" asked the Lieutenant, this time shaking hands with the Detective. "You got it Lieu," he answered.  
  
As the Lieutenant and Christopher got into the RMP to head back to the stationhouse, the Lieutenant said, "Finally, some good news."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... Hmmm, the plot thickens. Hope you liked it. More to come. 


	13. Chapter 13

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 13  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was moving day for Faith and Bosco. They still didn't know if they were going to be in the same room or not. "I swear that nurse is ignoring my question on purpose," complained Bosco.  
  
"Yeah, it couldn't be that she has no idea where they have open rooms on whatever floor we're going to," Faith said back sarcastically.  
  
"Why do you always take their side?" he asked, exasperated. "Their side?" she asked. "You know - other womens' side," he replied, looking right at her.  
  
"Oh Bos, grow up. What's gotten into you today? Why are you so grumpy?" asked Faith, noticing that he had been this way since last evening.  
  
"I'm not grumpy. I just don't want to move," he said, crossing his arms as if he was five years old and pouting.  
  
"Well, I think we're creeping them out up here in ICU. I don't think they're used to the patients actually being able to talk back to them," she said, bringing a smile to his face.  
  
"Yeah, that was pretty funny last night when that student nurse came in and tried to give me a sponge bath," he laughed. "I think she's the one that needed the bath after that," he finished as they both started laughing.  
  
"The poor girl will probably never come back again," Faith said, remembering how fast she ran from the room when she lifted up Bosco's hospital gown to change it and without moving he opened one eye and calmly said, "What are you doing?" She started laughing again.  
  
They were still laughing when they noticed a loud beeping noise coming from across the hall and a bunch of staff running to the room with a cart full of supplies. "Wonder what's going on over there," Bosco said as he stretched his neck trying to see into the other room. "Doesn't sound good, whatever it is," Faith commented.  
  
The two officers watched the goings-on across the hall for a few minutes and then Faith said, "So, what happened last night? What made you so restless?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe all this laying around. I'm just not tired," he answered vaguely, not wanting to tell her that he was having a new dream.  
  
"Well, they can give you something to help you sleep you know. All you have to do is ask," she told him. "Yeah, but you know I don't like all that crap," he said, making a face. "Sorry if I kept you awake. Maybe we should get separate rooms," he said, not wanting her to suffer because he couldn't keep his dreams under control.  
  
"I don't mind. I just didn't know if it was something you wanted to talk about," she said, trying to put him at ease.  
  
"Nah, just couldn't sleep," he said as most of the people started coming out of the room across the hall.  
  
"Looks like he made it," noticed Faith as she could still see the nurses working on him and the rhythm on the cardiac monitor on the wall that he was hooked up to.  
  
A little while later, two orderlies came to begin moving Bosco and Faith to their new rooms. Faith was first and asked what room she was going to so she could let Bosco know. One of the orderlies looked at the paperwork and said, "Uh, let's see... Looks like you're going to Room 4115 on the fourth floor," he said, looking over to see if Bosco had heard him. "Thanks," said Bosco. "I don't suppose you know what room I'm going to?" he asked, hoping that the same orderlies would be moving him and would have the information.  
  
The orderly checked Bosco's chart for his name and looked over his entire sheet. He frowned and said, "I have the sheet that lists all the transfers today and I don't have you down as going anywhere today, Mr. Boscorelli," he said.  
  
"What?" said Bosco. "I thought we were both supposed to be moved out today?" Bosco said, more to Faith than the orderly.   
  
"Geez, Bos. That's what the doctor said this morning. I don't know what's going on," she said, looking at the orderlies with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"Tell you what, Sir. I'll get Ms. Yokas settled in her room and then I'll see what I can find out about it. Okay?"  
  
Bosco nodded his head, "See ya' later, Yokas," he said as he watched the orderlies move Faith out of the room. She gave a wave as she went by the window to the room noticing the worried look on his face. He waved back, giving her a fake smile. His gaze moved as Faith disappeared from the window and he found himself again staring across the hall and thinking about the patient there.  
  
A few minutes later a nurse came in and he asked her about whether he was moving today or not. "Not today Bosco. There was some elevations in your bloodwork so the doctor wants to keep a close eye on you for another day or so," she said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She was glad that he was still here. She had been taking care of him during her shifts since he was admitted and there was something about him that she liked. "I was going to come in and tell you sooner, but then Mr. Crisafulli had a crisis and, well..." she said, looking across the hall.  
  
"Oh yeah," said Bosco as the nurse was taking his vital signs again. He looked down at her hand on his arm, noticing that she seemed to leave it there a little longer than necessary, rubbing over one of the many bruises on his arm. She realized what she was doing and got a little flustered. "That looks sore," she quickly recovered. "But, I'll make a note in the chart for the doctor that it doesn't appear any worse than earlier," she said trying to cover her embarrassment.  
  
"So, Bosco, what do you do?" she asked, trying to change the subject. He smiled slightly, liking the extra attention. And she wasn't bad looking either - the type that he'd go for before... well, before he and Faith had gotten together. "I'm a cop," he answered, giving her the famous Boscorelli smile.  
  
"Oooh, how exciting," said the nurse. "That's right. I remember reading in your chart about how you got hurt. It said you got hurt while trying to get your partner out of the way of that whacko that was doing all those hit and runs. That's pretty brave," she finished as Bosco was eating up all the praise.  
  
"Yeah, well. That's me - to protect and to serve," he said, enjoying himself. It had been a few months since he had the fun of trying to impress some girl. It was 2 1/2 months, in fact, since Faith and Bosco had expressed their feelings for each other. "I still got it," he thought to himself proudly.  
  
"Ahem!" came the sound from the doorway. Bosco and the nurse jumped and looked toward the doorway to see Angela Boscorelli standing there, a fake smile on her face. "Well, nurse. You seem to be doing a fine job of taking care of my boy here," she said, putting herself between the nurse and her son. "And, Bosco, you seem to be enjoying her company as well, but I'm sure she has other patients she should be tending to. So, where did your 'significant other,' Faith move to?"  
  
"Um... Yes I should get on to my next patient. So, Bosco, if you don't need anything else, I'll stop in later," she said, rushing from the room.  
  
Bosco watched her leave and was brought back to the present by the punch in the arm from his mother. "Ow!" he said, looking up at her and rubbing his arm.  
  
"Maurice Boscorelli! You should be ashamed of yourself. I passed Faith going down the hallway and she said she was being moved to a regular room today. She's been gone, what, 15 minutes and already you're chasing the nurses?"  
  
"Hey! I am NOT chasing the nurses. Can I help it if they can't resist this Boscorelli charm. SHE was coming on to ME," he said in his defense.  
  
"Well, I didn't see you discouraging her either," she said. "Don't mess up with Faith, Maurice. It took you guys way too long to hook up and I've never seen you happier," Angela scolded him.  
  
"Don't worry Ma. I'm not doing anything to mess that up. But, I'm not dead either," he finished quietly, hoping that Angela hadn't heard that last chauvinistic comment. She did and he promptly received another smack in the arm.  
  
"So, why aren't they moving you too?" she asked, worrying that he wasn't telling her something.  
  
"I don't know," he said angrily. "Somethin' about my bloodwork. Another day or two," he said, sadly.   
  
"Well, I'm sure that they'll let Faith call you from her room," she said, knowing that her son was already missing Faith.  
  
"Yeah, and she said that she'd tell the kids to come up and see me," he said, brightening a little.  
  
"Do you really think that Fred will bring them up here?" Angela asked him, smiling when Bosco told her what Faith had planned.  
  
Angela opened up the bag that she was carrying and quickly looked out the doorway before giving her son some 'real' coffee and a bagel that she smuggled in from the coffee shop down the street. Bosco brought the cup of coffee up to his nose and inhaled the deep, rich aroma. "Mmmmm. I never thought I'd appreciate a cup of coffee so much. Thanks Ma," he said as she leaned over to give him a hug.  
  
"Your welcome. Mikey says 'hi.' He said he was going to stop over in a little while. I told him to take the night off and that I would run the bar tonight. Unless you want me to stay here with you," she added quickly, remembering that Faith was no longer there to keep him company.  
  
Bosco nodded, "Great. It'll be good to see Mikey again. You don't have to come in tonight Ma. I know that you want to get back to the bar and check to see that everything's okay. I'm fine. It's not like I'm even that sick anymore," he said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.  
  
"You know, Ma. I really appreciate you being here with me through all of this. I'm sorry I put you through all this," he said, looking out the window as he spoke to her. He really did appreciate the fact that she had sat by his side day and night this past week. He always knew that she loved him and that she just didn't know how to show it. She had come a long way over this past year and he knew it was from the counseling that Bosco talked her into going to with Mikey in hopes of getting him straightened out. He knew that after he arrested him, there was no way that Mikey would want Bosco anywhere near him or he would have gone to the counseling with Mikey himself.  
  
"Maurice, honey. I know I put you boys through a lot while you were growing up and I know that you saw and heard a lot of things that no child should ever have to witness. I'm so sorry for putting you both through it and I can't help but blame myself for the problems that you have both had. I just hope it's not too late to let you know just how much I love you both," she said, tearing up. Bosco looked away as tears formed in his eyes also. They had never talked like this before and it was great.   
  
"We know Ma. We know. And, I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you all those years. I guess in some way I blamed you for not getting away from Dad and then for getting involved with all those losers. But that was wrong, you just needed help and I didn't know how to help you then," he told her. "I'm just glad that we're all straightened out now. Things are looking great for all of us," he said finally, giving her that Boscorelli smile.   
  
"Hi Bosco!" called a pretty, young nurse as she walked by the room. Angela pinched her son's cheek and said, "You always did draw the ladies, Maurice. I always worried about that, but you proved me wrong. You really did grow up to be a great guy, despite all you went through. I know I have never told you this before, but I am so proud of you, Maurice," she said, a tear spilling down her cheek. She leaned over and they hugged for a long time.  
  
"Thanks Ma," he said hugging her back. "I'm proud of you too. You've really gotten things together. You're running a successful business and you're finally happy in a relationship with a great guy. So, how is Tommy anyway?" he asked, realizing that he hadn't seen him since he had been in here. That surprised him because the two men had hit it off instantly. He was convinced that this man could actually give his mother the love and security she deserved.  
  
"Well, Maurice. Tommy wanted to be here - he calls me every day to ask how you're doing and he wants me to tell you he sends his best - but he has a really hard time coming around hospitals, ever since he lost his wife about three years ago. Did he ever tell you about that?" asked Angela. "No," Bosco said, shaking his head.  
  
"He was married to a wonderful woman. They were married for 25 years, never had any children. They were on a long-planned vacation in Paris and she became ill. She was hospitalized and never recovered from the illness. She died in the hospital in Paris and he was by her side the whole time. It just brings back terrible memories for him. I just couldn't force him to come here. I'm sorry," she explained to him.  
  
"You tell Tommy not to worry about it. I understand and I'll see him when I'm outta here in a few days," he said, glad that Angela had found someone so great.  
  
Mother and son sat together silently for a while, watching the news. There was a follow-up story about the hit and run attacker. They were reporting that there had been no new incidences of hit and runs since the last accident involving the one where he ran into the officers and civilians at the scene of a car accident. It was reported that they were looking for a white male, in the 30-40 age range. People were advised that the subject probably had suffered injuries from his latest attack - enough that he would require medical attention. Anyone with information that might be of assistance to the NYPD was asked to call a task force number. They were assured that anyone with information would be kept confidential.   
  
The report followed with a brief report on the officer that had been killed and the condition of the officers that were also struck and still hospitalized and of Kim who was making a remarkable recovery. Angela absently reached over and patted her son's leg, thanking God that he was not one of those killed. Bosco closed his eyes and again saw Kim being struck that night. That sound would haunt him for a long time.  
  
As the news ended, the phone rang in Bosco's room. He reached over and picked it up. "Boscorelli," he answered. Angela watched as Bosco's face relaxed as he answered softy, "Hey, how are you?" Angela knew that it was Faith. She saw Bosco start to stifle a yawn and decided that it was time for her to leave. She stood up and Bosco said, "Faith, hang on a minute."   
  
"Maurice, you look tired so I'm gonna go and let you get some rest okay?" she asked him. He didn't really want her to leave because that would mean he would be by himself, but he saw how tired his mother was looking also. Mikey never did show up but called to say that the bar was really busy at lunchtime and that he would be staying there. He would try to stop by tomorrow and told his mother to stay for a while longer and then come over.   
  
Angela leaned over to give her son a kiss and said into the phone on his shoulder, "G'night Faith." Bosco smiled and watched his mother walk out of the room, giving her a wave as she walked by the window. Bosco would never know it, but Angela stopped by the nurse's station and asked the nurse to make sure that the light over Maurice's bed was left on during the night. The nurse told her that Officer Yokas had already called and made that request a few moments ago and the nurse assured Angela that she would make sure that it was - after all it wasn't often that patients in the ICU were awake to make such a request and the least she could do was to make sure the light was on.  
  
He lifted the phone back up to his ear. "So, are you sure you're alright?" he asked Faith. She sounded tired and worried. "Yeah Bos. I just want to make sure that you're okay. I finally found out that you never got moved today and I was worried," she explained.  
  
"Sorry. Yeah, I'm fine. I think the doctor is just being over-cautious cause I feel fine," he assured Faith, stifling another yawn.  
  
"Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight?" she asked him. "'Cause you can have the nurse give you something. I know you don't like taking that stuff, but you really do need to get some decent rest Bosco," she urged.  
  
"You know, I feel really beat. I bet I sleep just fine," he said, trying to soothe her worries. There was no way he was going to take any drugs to make him sleep. He didn't like not being under control of his own body. "Did you talk to the kids tonight?" he asked, trying to change the subject.  
  
"Yeah, but they had a ton of homework that they hadn't finished yet so Fred took them right home after stopping in," she said. "Emily and Charlie promised me that they would stop up to see you tomorrow," she said and Bosco smiled. "Great. I can't believe how much I miss those guys," he said to Faith. She smiled and thought about what a great Dad he would be someday. She'd thought about that a lot since they had gotten together - how she'd like to give him at least one child of his own someday, but she was getting ahead of herself - way ahead.  
  
Faith heard Bosco yawning again into the phone. "So, it sounds like you're ready to sleep. Do you want my phone number here in case you can't sleep?" she offered. "Sure," he said, grabbing the pen and paper that Angela had left for him. "Thanks, Faith and good night," he said. "Goodnight Bos. I love you," said Faith into the phone.   
  
"I love you too, Faith," said Bosco and Faith filled with tears as she heard him say it for the first time. They both hung up the phone and Bosco turned off the television and laid back on the pillows.   
  
He tossed and turned, as much as he could with the amount he could move from his injuries, for a few minutes and then turned the television back on. He needed the noise to keep him company until he fell asleep and he figured he wasn't disturbing anyone since he was alone. He soon fell asleep, but not for long.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The room was dark and the patient's monitors kept track of his condition. Nurses were in and out frequently, checking on him every five minutes or so. Periodically, a machine alarm would go off indicating that something was amiss and a nurse or doctor would go into the room to check on him. He had not regained consciousness since his arrival on the floor, but something about the man just didn't sit right with the night nurse. She didn't like going in there - it just made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.  
  
She was in the room checking on his vital signs, with the small bedside light on. She started to turn to write down the information in the chart when she felt someone grab her wrist tightly. She gasped and turned back toward the patient to see him staring up at her.   
  
It took her a moment to regain her composure and she pried his fingers from her wrist and tried to reassure him as most patients in the ICU woke up in a panic, not knowing or remembering what had happened to them.   
  
"Mr. Crisafulli. You're awake. You're at Angel of Mercy Hospital. I'll go get the doctor for you. I'll be right back," she said, quickly exiting the room. She went to the nurse's station and paged the doctor that was on call. When he called back, she notified him that the patient had woken up and he said he would be right up to evaluate him.  
  
A few moments later, the doctor was in Crisafulli's room with the nurse and was evaluating the patient. He explained, "Apparently, you took a bad fall through a floor in an abandoned building, Mr. Crisafulli. You had something stuck in your ankle that was pretty infected upon your arrival. We had to operate to remove the object, but the infection made it's way into your bloodstream. You have been in pretty bad shape the last couple of days, but I think the worst of it is over. Do you understand?" asked the doctor. Crisafulli shook his head yes and then drifted off to sleep, but not before hearing the doctor ask the nurse, "Have you checked with the lab for the repeat bloodwork result on - oh I'm sorry I forgot his name - the cop that got hit by the car the other day?"  
  
"Yes, Doctor," replied the nurse. "Officer Boscorelli's results aren't back yet, but they promised to call me as soon as they're available."  
  
"Okay, thanks. I'll be back down in the 'On Call' room if you need me," he said, leaving the room.  
  
Crisafulli stirred at hearing the officer's name, but was able to remain calm while the nurse was still in the room. "Mr. Crisafulli, I'm going to go check on some other patients, but if you need me just push this button," she said showing him the button and placing it next to him on the bed.   
  
"Thank you," replied Crisafulli weakly. The nurse left the room and he could hardly contain his excitement. "I have to concentrate on getting better so that I can finish off this Boscorelli person," he thought to himself. With that he fell asleep once more.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
At the same time as Crisafulli was awakening, Bosco awoke with a start, sweating slightly from the dream he had. He again saw the car headed toward Faith and was rushing to get her out of the way. He remembered looking at the oncoming car and seeing the driver behind the wheel with the horrid look on his face. It was like he was almost laughing at them. But, he couldn't make out the features clearly and it frustrated him. He sat his bed up slightly and noticed the activity in the room across the hall. "Hmm. That guy is really having a hard time of it," he thought to himself, thinking that he had had another bad episode.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC...  
  
A long one I know. Sorry. More to follow soon. 


	14. Chapter 14

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 14  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sully and Ty were in the Precinct House booking a drunk driver that had just plowed into a corner full of pedestrians. The man was so drunk he didn't even know what he'd done. They had just returned from getting him looked over at Mercy before putting him in the lock-up and were sitting down to start the paperwork.  
  
"Man, what a night," sighed Sully heavily as he sat down at the desk and pulled out a blank report form from the drawer.  
  
"Yeah, that was somethin'. That guy is really messed up," said Ty, grabbing one of the blank forms himself.   
  
"Not half as messed up as if those kids die and they find out about it in the jail," Sully told him.   
  
"What d'you mean?" Davis asked, not knowing that the one thing almost every prisoner hated was a child molester or child killer.  
  
"I mean, Davis, that if they find out in the joint that this guy killed a kid they'll make his life a living hell. A short living hell, but a living hell just the same. Not even the scum of the earth like people that hurt or kill kids," Sully explained to his young partner as he pulled his notebook out of his pocket and began putting information onto the report form.  
  
Ty nodded, thinking to himself that he would never learn all the stuff that his partner knew. "Well, these reports ought to take up the rest of the shift," he grumbled.  
  
"At least," answered Sully, knowing there was overtime in their immediate future.  
  
The Lieutenant walked through on his way to meet with the Lieutenant of the next shift to brief him. "Hey guys, that sounded like quite a mess out there tonight," he said, stopping to talk for a moment.  
  
"Lieu, you're lucky you were in the House," Sully said, smiling up at the Lieutenant. "Yeah, well.... Good job out there tonight. You too kid," the Lieutenant said, nodding to the two officers as he left for his meeting.  
  
After a few moments, both officers had stopped writing and were each staring at a spot on the wall in front of them. "You know, when we pulled up there tonight all I could see was that mess from the other night," said Sully quietly.  
  
"You mean the hit and run?" asked Ty. Sully just nodded and Ty quietly said, "Yeah, me too."  
  
Both men went back to their reports.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alex, Doc, Carlos and Pauly Smith, who had been assigned the 55th until Kim was back to work, were all outside the doors to the ER at Mercy. They had all just finished cleaning up their rigs from the previous call. "Can you believe what a mess that was?" said Carlos, incredulously.  
  
"Yeah, you guys sure get some nasty car accidents over here," joked Smith, not realizing that all the medics he was currently with were working the other day when the hit and run driver had run down the PD, FD and civilians.  
  
Doc was looking at Alex who was in the back of Adam 55-3 cleaning up the floor in silence. She had seen enough trauma for three people over the last week. And she'd been in the thick of it every time. He stepped into the back of the ambulance with some replacement supplies and started putting them away.  
  
Quietly, he said, "How are you doin', Alex?" She jumped slightly because she hadn't heard Doc get in - she was lost in her own thoughts.  
  
"Huh? Oh, Doc. I didn't hear you get in. What did you say?" she asked him, going back to what she was doing.  
  
"I asked how you're doing?" Doc repeated. "Oh, I'm okay - not a scratch again," she tried to joke, but Doc noticed the shaking of her hands. "You know, if you need some time off, I can try to arrange to get another fill-in over here for a few days. You've been through quite a bit these last few days," he offered.  
  
"Nah, Doc. I'm okay. Really," she answered, trying to sound more upbeat than she felt. "I could just stand a break from these car accidents I guess," she joked.  
  
"Yeah. You and me both," answered Doc. "But if you change your mind, let me know okay?" Alex nodded and finished cleaning up the floor of the rig. "Well, that's about it. You ready to call back in service?" she asked him as she reached for the radio. Doc nodded and Alex keyed the mike, "Central, show Adam 55-3 back in service from Mercy."  
  
"Adam 55-3, 10-4," came the reply from Central.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jimmy was coming down the hallway with a very excited Joey in tow. This would be the first time that Joey would be allowed to see his Mom since her injuries. Jimmy had a long talk with Joey before bringing him over, explaining that Kim would have a lot of cuts and bruises. He told him about the cast that Kim would have and that she wouldn't be able to talk to him because of the wires on her jaw. "I don't care, Dad. I just want to see Mom for myself," he had responded bravely. Jimmy brought his mother along also, just in case it was too much for Joey to handle.  
  
Kim could hear Joey's unmistakable footsteps coming down the hallway and she began to get even more nervous. She was afraid that her looks would scare him even though Jimmy, her Mom and Alex had assured her that she still looked like herself. All Kim saw when she looked in the mirror was the horrible swelling and bruises. And, of course, the scars stood out more to her because she knew exactly where they were. Kim's mother was helping her to put on some make-up and brushing out her hair. She was finally able to put on some nightclothes from home instead of the awful hospital gown and that helped her to look more like herself as well.  
  
She heard Jimmy call after Joey as he broke free from Jimmy's hand and ran the rest of the way to Kim's room. Joey rounded the corner and pulled up short, just staring at Kim. "Oh God," Kim thought. "He doesn't recognize me," she said to herself and her eyes started to tear up. She held out her arms to Joey and noticed that he too was crying. He ran over to her and jumped up on the bed causing her some discomfort but she didn't show it. She was just so glad to see her son again.  
  
Joey threw his arms around Kim and held on tight. "Mom. I missed you so much. I was so scared," he said, burying his face in the curve between her shoulder and neck. She felt the tears on her shoulder. Kim managed to get the word Joey out of her mouth around the wiring and hugged him tighter. Jimmy stood in the doorway, tears in his eyes. Joey felt the same way that Jimmy had been feeling. He was so glad to be able to see and talk to his mother. No matter how much Jimmy had been talking to Joey to assure him that his mother was going to be okay, nothing worked quite as well as seeing for himself. Jimmy walked into the room and over to the two on the bed. He sat on the side of the bed and wrapped his arms around his son and ex-wife. He hadn't said anything to anyone - even Kim - but he wanted to take the ex- back off her name. All in good time. He knew he had to prove himself to her. They all talked for a little while, Kim writing messages to Joey on her board. After a short time, Kim and Joey had developed a sort of shorthand so that they could communicate faster. The three of them were all laughing and playing around and before anyone knew it, visiting hours were over and Jimmy had to take Joey home.  
  
They reluctantly said their goodnights. Jimmy was going to be sleeping at the apartment with Joey tonight. This would be his first night away from her since the accident and he was nervous about it. But, they had both agreed that Joey needed to get back to some kind of normalcy. Besides, Jimmy was scheduled to be back to work tomorrow. The Captain had arranged as much time off for him as he could, but he was needed back at work. Kim had told Jimmy that he needed to get back to some normalcy too and that she would be fine.   
  
The nurse again came in the room and gently shooed them out of the room. "Goodnight Mom," said Joey again as he turned back toward her one last time at the doorway. Kim waved at him and blew him a kiss. She knew he would be back to see her again tomorrow. Jimmy turned back toward her also, came across the room and gave her a kiss goodnight. Joey and Jimmy walked out of the room and together, with Mrs. Zambrano and Jimmy's Mom, they all headed out of the hospital.  
  
Kim settled back and fell asleep almost immediately. She didn't realize how tired she was from her therapy and then the nervousness about seeing Joey again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Fred was gathering up the kids and their things in order to take them home. Since Faith was feeling so much better, he had left them with her after school and worked an extra shift at work. He had just come to pick them up and bring them home to bed. Faith had helped them with their homework and Faith's brother and sister-in-law had stopped in to visit and took the kids down to the cafeteria for some dinner while Faith went for her therapy session.  
  
"So, was it too much for you today Faith?" asked Fred, with a worried look on his face. Even though they weren't married anymore, they still loved each other. "I can try to make other arrangements if it's too much. The most important thing is for you to get better," he said.  
  
"Nah, they were fine Fred. You're doing a great job with them. I'm sorry I can't help you with them more right now, but once I get out of here I can take them at my place more often and overnight to give you a break," she said to him gratefully.  
  
"So, did they get up to see Boscorelli?" he asked with a slight sneer on his face. "Emily and Charlie really were bugging me to visit them."  
  
"Actually, Stan tried to take them up, but they said he wasn't there. He checked with the nurse and she told him something about him having a procedure done," she said worriedly. "I was going to ask you if you wouldn't mind going up and seeing if you could find out what was going on?" she said, afraid of what his reaction would be.  
  
He took a deep breath and tried to keep his control. He knew that they were "an item" but he didn't like it. "Yeah, I'll take a run up there right now and stop down again before we leave," he agreed reluctantly.  
  
"Thanks Fred. You can leave the kids here with me for a few minutes while you go if you want," she offered. "Yeah, okay. I'll be right back. Be ready to go when I get back kids," he said, heading out the door.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Fred got off the elevator on the ICU floor and walked over to the nurse's station. "Can I help you?" asked the nurse. "Yeah, my wife wanted me to come up and check on her partner, Boscorelli," he grumbled. "She heard something about him having a procedure done and couldn't find out anything more," he finished.  
  
The nurse looked on her patient roster and nodded. "Oh, here it is. He had some complications from his injuries and they had to take him back to the operating room. He's not back on the floor just yet, but he's in the recovery room so it shouldn't be much longer," she said, looking up at him and smiling.  
  
"So, these complications. Are they serious? She's gonna ask me," he said.  
  
"Well, all I can tell you is that he had some residual internal bleeding that didn't show up right away and they had to repair that. But, he's supposed to be coming back here sometime tonight. If you give me his partner's room number I'll be sure to send word down to her when he returns," she offered pleasantly.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Thanks. Her name's Faith Yokas. She's in Room 4115," he answered and watched as the nurse wrote the information down.  
  
"Got it," she said. "Oh and let Mrs. Yokas know that he won't be going back to the same room as before. He'll be going back to the room across the hall," she finished.   
  
"Thanks," said Fred as he turned to leave. He rode the elevator back down to the fourth floor and headed back to Faith's room. He told her the information that he was able to get, which only worried her more. "What kind of complications? Bleeding from where?" she asked him insistently.  
  
"I don't know, Faith," he said in exasperation. "I told you that's all the information they would give me. I'm not family, remember?" he said angrily. "C'mon kids. It's late and you both need showers before bed tonight," he said. The kids said goodbye and they headed out of the hospital, leaving Faith to sit and worry in solitude.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
There seemed to be a slow period in the Emergency Room of Mercy Hospital. A none-to-frequent occurrence and the staff were taking advantage of it. The desk clerk was clearing out some old papers and straightening things up while the nursing staff was re-stocking supplies and organizing the curtained-off treatment rooms before the next onslaught.  
  
One of the ER doctors was sitting at the desk reading over some charts. The desk clerk grabbed a stack of old papers and a few slipped off the pile and landed on top of the charts he was working on. "Sorry about that, Doctor," said the clerk as she gathered up some of the papers. One of the papers caught the attention of the doctor. "What's this thing?" he asked, picking up the paper and reading the information from it. "Oh, that's the information about that hit and run driver from last week. You know, the one that killed that cop and plowed into all those people," she continued. "They think he was injured in the crash and may seek medical treatment," she finished.  
  
The doctor looked closely at the picture of the man on the flier. He couldn't place it, but the man looked familiar. "Well, this should be put up on the board, not stuffed under the desk," he said, handing the paper to the clerk to hang up. "Yes, Doctor," she replied as she stuck a tack through it on the board. The doctor looked at the flier again, wondering when and if he had seen the familiar-looking man.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... Sorry, kind of a slow chapter. I'll try to pick it up some more next time. 


	15. Chapter 15

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 15  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bosco was being transferred from the recovery room stretcher to the bed in the ICU. He was still knocked out from the anesthesia so it was fairly easy to get him settled this time. Just as the nurse had finished getting him settled and checked his IV lines and monitors, Bosco stirred a little. "Officer Boscorelli, everything's fine. Your back in your room and your surgery went great. I just gave you something for any pain so just relax and let it work." Bosco gave a slight nod and faded back to sleep.  
  
The patient in the next bed awoke at the name he heard the nurse call the new patient in his room. The nurse noticed that he was awake and came over to see if he needed anything. "Mr. Crisafulli. Sorry to wake you. Do you need anything while I'm here?" asked the nurse.  
  
"No, thank you," he replied. "What's with this guy?" he asked trying to get more information on the officer's condition.  
  
"Oh, he just had some surgery for some internal bleeding. He should be out of it the rest of the night. I'll make the proper introductions for you tomorrow," she said cheerfully. With that, the nurse checked Bosco over one more time and left the room.   
  
Crisafulli sat up in bed and looked over at the sleeping man in the other bed. "So, still hanging on I see," he said quietly to himself. "We'll see about that." He slowly sat up and swung his legs over to the other side of the bed. Carefully, he slid off the bed, putting his good foot on the floor. He listened for a moment, trying to hear whether anyone was coming down the hallway. The only sound he heard was that of the even breathing of Bosco and his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He grabbed hold of the IV pole that held his medications and used it as a cane. He slowly crept toward the bed ignoring the pain shooting through his injured ankle. He looked down at the wires and tubes and tried to figure out a way to injure the man further. He reached the side of Bosco's bed and looked around to see if there was anything he could use to inflict more damage. Just then he heard, "Mr. Crisafulli, what are you doing out of bed?" Crisafulli jumped at the sound of the nurse's voice, silently berating himself for letting himself get so caught up in his revenge so as not to notice someone approaching. Luckily he was a quick thinker and said, "Nurse. I was just going to ring for someone. It sounded like he had stopped breathing," he said hastily, putting alarm in his voice.  
  
The nurse quickly came over to Bosco's side and checked him over. "Mr. Crisafulli. Office Boscorelli is just fine," she said as she came around the bed to help him back to his own bed. "Now, please. We don't want you to hurt yourself anymore."  
  
"But..." he said before being interrupted again. "I understand that you were concerned, but next time just push the button on your bed and we'll be right in," she admonished him as she straightened his covers and checked his IV to assure he hadn't pulled it loose. She checked the bandages on his leg to make sure that he hadn't ripped any anything loose. She patted his arm reassuringly, checked the sleeping officer one more time and left the room again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Faith was still wide-awake when the nurse came in to check on her. "Officer Yokas? What on earth are you still doing awake?" she asked her. "You should be exhausted after your therapy and your all day visitors," she said jokingly.   
  
"I know, it's just... Have you heard any information about my partner?" she asked the nurse finally. She had told the nurse about Bosco's surgery and the nurse said that she would check throughout the night and let her know what she found out.  
  
"Well, that's what I was coming in to tell you if you were awake - and you are! I just got off the phone with the ICU. They said that he is back from the recovery room and is sound asleep. The notes in his chart from the surgeon say that everything went fine and that they were able to repair the leak of the spleen," she said reassuringly.  
  
"Great. Thank you so much," said Faith. The nurse straightened out Faith's covers, took a set of vitals as long as she was awake and noted them in her chart. "Now. Do you need anything before I go? Do you need some more pain medicine because you are about due for more if you need it," she said looking at her wristwatch and calculating the time since Faith's last pain pill.  
  
"No, I think I can sleep now that I know Bosco's okay," she said smiling. "Thanks again."  
  
"No problem, dear. Now get some sleep," the nurse replied, reaching up and turning off the overhead light.  
  
Faith settled back and closed her eyes. She still had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, but finally managed to fall asleep.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The doctor was talking to Angela Boscorelli at the nurse's station. He was letting her know that Bosco's surgery had gone smoothly. They had found the small nick in his spleen that was causing the problems with his blood count and had been able to repair it without taking the spleen out.  
  
"He'll be out of it for the rest of the night Ms. Boscorelli," said the doctor, looking very tired himself. "Why don't you go home and get some rest. He probably won't be ready to talk to anyone until tomorrow afternoon or so," he finished.  
  
"Thank you, Doctor," she said, finally relaxing a little now that she knew he was going to be okay. "I just want to take a peek at him before I go if that's okay?" she asked.   
  
The doctor nodded. "That would be fine," he said, nodding toward the nurse to bring her back for a quick moment. "But then I want you to go home and get some rest," he finished. She shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you, Doctor. You look like you need some rest too," she said and then followed the nurse down the hall to check on her son.  
  
The nurse indicated which room he was in and told her that she could only go in for a quick moment. "Okay, I will. I promise," she said to the nurse. She quietly walked into Bosco's room, noticing the other man in the room also. She walked even quieter, not wanting to disturb the other person. She looked down at her son, a peaceful look on his face. It seemed the only time he looked totally relaxed was when he was knocked out by anesthesia, she thought to herself, chuckling slightly. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the forehead and squeezed his hand slightly. "Goodnight, Honey. I'll see you in the morning." Then she turned and walked out of the room and toward the elevators, thanking the nurse at the desk on her way out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next day, Ty awoke to the sunshine shining in the room. He looked over at Alex sleeping next to him, wearing nothing but the sheet from the bed. "What did I do to deserve this?" he thought to himself turning toward her and wrapping his arms around her. She stirred and woke up, looking at his smiling face.   
  
"You know, I could get used to this," she mumbled sleepily.   
  
"Oh yeah?" said Ty, suddenly tickling her without warning. She squirmed away from him and found herself on the floor next to the bed in a fit of laughter.  
  
"Are you okay?!" asked Ty quickly, shedding the bed sheet and jumping up, immediately sorry for making her fall off the bed.   
  
"Yes," Alex replied, still laughing as she rubbed her hip where it hit against the hardwood floor. She looked up to see him standing before her and again she wanted him. She slowly took his hand and stood up, moving in close to him quickly.   
  
They could each feel the other's heat. The passion began to build again and soon they were back in bed, exploring each other again. About a half hour later, the alarm went off and they kissed and untangled from each other. Alex threw on Ty's robe and headed out to the kitchen to make coffee, letting Ty have the shower first. She never remembered being so happy.  
  
Ty went into the bathroom and started the water for his shower. He looked at himself in the mirror, noticing the lovesick puppy dog look that Sully said he wore whenever Alex was around. He chuckled, grabbed the shampoo off the counter and stepped into the shower. He had been thinking more and more about how happy he was and how much he wanted to be with Alex all the time. As he stood under the steamy water he made a decision. He would ask Alex to marry him. He couldn't see himself without her in his life. She completed him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jimmy walked into the firehouse and was greeted by all the guys that he hadn't realized he missed so much. Everyone shook his hand as he walked by and asked how Kim was doing. "She's doing great. Thanks," he said.  
********  
He had gotten Joey off to school and his mother was going to pick him up from school and take care of him until Jimmy got off work. His worries about spending the night with Joey away from Kim were soon quieted when he got to Kim's apartment and started the ritual of getting Joey dinner and ready for bed. He was comforted by all of Kim's belongings around him and he had called to check on her twice before he turned in for the night. He was assured by the nurse that Kim was fine and already asleep for the night.  
  
Jimmy looked in on Joey and saw that he was sound asleep. He was probably happy to get into his own bed for a change. Jimmy crawled into Kim's bed without changing the sheets. He wanted her scent near him. He slept soundly for the first time in a week.  
*********  
  
It wasn't long before the bell rang and they were out on their first run of the day. An apartment fire, with people trapped inside. Jimmy eagerly jumped onto the truck after getting his gear on. He hadn't realized how much he missed this and smiled as the truck took off out of the station and rounded the corner toward the smoke rising in the distance.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Doc and Carlos were on their way to the same call as Jimmy. It was a beautiful day and they had been behind the station getting the rig ready for the day and enjoying the sunshine. Carlos was relating his latest love interest to Doc who just chuckled. "It's a wonder these women even go out with you a second time Carlos," he teased.  
  
"What?" said Carlos as the radio crackled sending them to the apartment building fire along with Boy 55-2. The two men closed the equipment doors and jumped into the rig. Carlos was driving, something that it had taken him about a month to talk Doc into. Ever since he hit that guy in the crosswalk Doc had been reluctant to let him drive again. Finally, Doc must have gotten tired of his begging and gave in.  
  
They pulled up to the apartment fire and the Captain was frantically waving for them to hurry over. "This doesn't look too good," said Carlos to Doc as they grabbed their equipment. "It never is," answered Doc, wondering what they would find this time.   
  
They hurried over to find Jimmy Doherty and DK doing CPR on a young woman they had brought from the third floor of the building. Doc and Carlos had assumed it was another firefighter that was injured, most likely Jimmy. "Okay, Jimmy, we got her," said Doc as he and Carlos nudged the two firefighters out of the way. The two men stood up and looked down at their victim. "She gonna be okay, Doc?" asked DK. "Don't know yet, DK," answered Doc as he continued to work on the woman.   
  
"Okay, you two. Get back in there. There's an older guy missing from the 8th floor," ordered the Captain. "Yes sir," replied Doherty as the two men grabbed their tools and headed back in.  
  
Doc and Carlos worked on the woman at the scene for another half hour before they got her stabilized and loaded into the bus. They took off, Doc in the back with the patient and Carlos driving. They had rounded the corner leaving the fire scene and were immediately run off the road by an oncoming car. Carlos swerved to avoid a collision, throwing Doc to other side of the rig where he struck his shoulder on a cabinet, feeling immediate pain. "Not again!" he shouted. Then to Doc, "That WAS NOT my fault!" He saw the look of pain on Doc's face.  
  
"You okay back there?" yelled Carlos from the front as he steered the ambulance back onto the road. "What the hell happened?" asked Doc trying to move his shoulder without success. "Dammit! I think I dislocated my shoulder," he advised Carlos.   
  
"You want me to come back there?" Carlos asked, pulling the ambulance to a stop. "No, no. Just keep going. She's stabilized for now. Let's just get her to the hospital," Doc answered, unbuttoning the front of his shirt and tucking his hand inside to support his arm until they got to the hospital.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... Hope you enjoyed this chapter. More to come. 


	16. Chapter 16

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 16  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Carlos pulled the ambulance into the ambulance bay at Mercy and jumped out and headed to the back of the rig. He grabbed two orderlies who were standing around outside for help since Doc wasn't able to lift anyone and needed to get checked out himself. The orderlies wheeled the woman inside and Carlos jumped in the back of the rig to grab the clipboard with all the patient's information on it.  
  
Dr. Jamison was coming out to head home for a dinner break with his new wife of three months and saw that Doc seemed to be in some pain.   
  
"What's up, Doc?" joked Jamison and then apologized. "What happened?" he asked again.   
  
"It was NOT my fault this time," Carlos chimed in, already knowing that his driving record preceded him in the ER and he was the butt of many jokes whenever an ambulance was involved in a fender bender.  
  
"Sure Carlos. What did he do, hit you with the ambulance mirror?" Dr. Jamison asked as he carefully removed Doc's hand from the makeshift sling and noticed that his fingers seemed colder than on the other hand.  
  
"Nah," chuckled Doc through the pain of the examination. "Some nutcase almost drove us off the road and Carlos had to swerve. I got thrown against one of the cabinets in the bus and I think I dislocated my shoulder," he finished as Dr. Jamison noticed the beads of sweat on Doc's forehead as he reacted to the pain.  
  
"Well, c'mon in and let's take a look," Jamison said as Carlos went by him to brief the ER staff on the woman's condition.  
  
"You were on your way out. I can wait until someone else can see me," offered Doc, although he knew that Dr. Jamison was the best orthopedic surgeon on staff at the hospital. Jamison merely liked to earn extra money by working shifts as an ER Doc. He always said that it kept his skills up and he always got the really challenging orthopedic cases because he was right there when they came in.  
  
"Ah, just dinner with Marybeth. She'll wait for me. Besides, I'm sure it's burned again," he joked as he walked Doc into the ER.  
  
After Doc had his x-rays done and the pain medicine was beginning to work, Dr. Jamison came in to talk to him. Carlos was sitting next to Doc, finishing up the paperwork from the last call and looked up as Dr. Jamison walked in.  
  
"Carlos, my man. Just the person I need," Dr. Jamison said cheerfully. Carlos stood up and shook the doctor's hand. "What can I do for you?" asked Carlos as both he and Doc watched Jamison throw the x-rays up on the viewer and study them.   
  
After a moment of looking at the x-rays and then feeling Doc's shoulder, he looked at the x-rays again. "Piece of cake," he finally announced. "Carlos, I need you to stand behind Doc and grab both ends of this sheet that I'm going to wrap around Doc's chest," instructed Dr. Jamison as he slid a chair over alongside Doc.  
  
"Okay, all set," announced Carlos as Doc looked on questioningly. With that Dr. Jamison climbed up on the chair and gripped Doc's arm just above the elbow, extending the lower part of Doc's arm between his own arm and side.  
  
"Carlos," he said, looking at the young medic behind Doc. "I need you to get a firm grip on the ends of the sheet and gently and continuously pull back toward you as hard as I'm pulling Doc toward me. Understand?" he asked as Carlos suddenly realized what the doctor was going to do.   
  
Carlos nodded his head as Jamison stood up straight on the chair, slowly bringing Doc's arm up with him. As Doc got a nervous look on his face, Dr. Jamison counted to three and slowly, but steadily began pulling with Carlos pulling back equally.   
  
As Doc grimaced with the pain despite the pain medication that he had been given, he felt a sudden pop as his shoulder snapped back into place.   
  
"Cool," Carlos said as he watched Doc's shoulder reduce itself with the traction being applied from both directions.  
  
"Precisely," said Jamison proudly as he jumped down off the chair and called to the nurse walking by the doorway. "Jenny, could you please take Mr. Parker here back to x-ray for a post-reduction film? Just to make sure everything's where it's supposed to be now, Doc," he said, as Jenny came in with a wheelchair and helped Doc into it.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bosco awoke with confusion, realizing after a moment that he was back in the hospital room following more surgery. "Faith?" he called out weakly, forgetting that she was in another part of the hospital now. He noticed that it was morning - or afternoon - daytime anyway.  
  
Crisafulli looked over at the officer with immediate dislike of the man. "Sorry, Officer Boscorelli, you're stuck with me," he said quietly as he again tried to get out of bed and make it over to Bosco's bed.   
  
He noticed that the staff was still busy in the room across the hall where all kinds of machine alarms had gone off. Shortly after the alarms on the machines sounded a "Code Blue" was announced throughout the floor, summoning all available personnel to assist in trying to resuscitate the patient. The nurse that was about to administer some medication through Crisafulli's IV put the syringe down and ran across the hall to help, thinking that both patients were still sound asleep.  
  
Bosco had again fallen back to sleep and didn't notice that the patient in the bed next to him was getting up, a menacing look on his face. Crisafulli picked up the syringe and slowly shuffled toward Bosco, keeping an eye on the action across the hall. He put the needle of the syringe into Bosco's IV tubing and emptied the contents into the line, watching the yellowish medication make it's way up toward Bosco's bloodstream.  
  
He quickly tried to return to his own bed, knocking a clipboard off the table onto the floor, with a loud clatter. Bosco awoke to look in the direction of the noise. He noticed a figure going away from him and felt a strange numbness coming over him.  
  
Just as Crisafulli had gotten himself back into bed, he looked over to notice Bosco showing signs of difficulty breathing. Bosco's eyes widened as he looked at Crisafulli, the feeling of suffocation making him panic and try to breathe harder. The last thing that Bosco saw before everything went black was the evil look on the man's face and the empty syringe he was holding up for Bosco to see.  
  
The alarms on the monitors connected to Bosco began chirping, one by one. Crisafulli hoped that with the confusion next door, no one would hear the alarms until it was too late. He thought that maybe he should unplug the machines to prevent the alarms, but realized that would be too much of a coincidence. He stuffed the empty syringe under the mattress of his bed and waited for the officer's chest to stop rising and falling.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
That's all for tonight. Hope you enjoy it. 


	17. Chapter 17

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 17  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Doc said goodbye to Carlos, who was bringing the bus back to the stationhouse to pick up Alex for the rest of the shift. Doc said he wanted to go up and check on Kim, Bosco and Faith and then he'd catch a ride home later.  
  
"Okay, you're gonna stop by from time to time, right?" asked Carlos.   
  
"Yeah. Dr. Jamison said I'm out of work for like three weeks to let this heal and get some physical therapy started, but I'll stop in. Hey, I gotta pick up my paycheck right?" he joked, slapping Carlos on the shoulder as he turned to walk down the hallway.  
  
"Alright, take care Doc," Carlos said on his way out the door to the bus. "Boy 55-3 in route to the station to pick up a new partner," Carlos advised Central on the radio.  
  
Doc heard the dispatcher respond back to Carlos' message as he rounded the corner and just about walked into Dr. Jamison.  
  
"Whoa! Sorry about that Doctor," Doc said, barely avoiding the collision.  
  
"Doc! What are you still doing here? You should be home with ice on that shoulder. And it's Jamie for you, not Dr. Jamison - unless of course I'm trying to impress some beautiful woman," Jamison said to him and the two men laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to stop up and see the medic and two cops that got hit by that hit and run driver. You know, see how they're doing," explained Doc.  
  
"Yeah, you know I wanted to talk to you about that. Thanks for reminding me," said Dr. Jamison as he led Doc into the lounge so they could talk, remembering the information he had seen on the news about the injuries to the driver of the hit and run vehicle. He walked over and poured a cup of coffee, offering it to Doc. Doc declined by shaking his head. Dr. Jamison added his cream and sugar and turned back to Doc.  
  
"That guy that you and Carlos brought in - the homeless guy that fell through the floor in the abandoned building..." Jamison trailed off, waiting for Doc to remember the call.  
  
"Geez, Jamie. We get so many of those - at least one a shift. And that's on a slow day," said Doc truthfully.  
  
"Yeah, this was the one with the piece of metal in his ankle. Do you remember him?" Jamie asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, that guy was a mess. He'd been that way for a while from the look of the infection that had set in," Doc answered.  
  
"Yeah, it took me forever to get all that dead tissue out of there. Anyway - are you sure about where and how he got hurt?" the doctor asked.  
  
"That's what the guy told us. He said he was living in some old building and was wandering around in the dark, stepped on a rotton piece of floor and found himself on the floor below before he realized what had happened. Why?" Doc asked him curiously.  
  
"No reason," he said casually. "I was just thinking about it the other day," he finished, leaning against the counter, the flier from the police department with the man's description hanging on the board behind him.  
  
"Okay, well I'm gonna head up and see how everyone's doing up there. Thanks again, Jamie. For everything," Doc said, shaking hands with Dr. Jamison and heading out of the lounge.  
  
Jamie Jamison remained in the lounge for a moment, sipping his coffee, the flier glaring at him from behind. After a moment his pager sounded and he saw the fury of activity in the ER outside the door. "Looks like another bad one," he sighed, putting down his cup and heading out to get ready for the next trauma.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Doc got off the elevator on the fourth floor. Kim had been moved to the same room as Faith, but he had been informed by information that Bosco was still up in ICU from complications. He turned the corner and walked into the hospital room, finding his two friends watching a soap opera.  
  
"You know he's gonna cheat on you again, Felicia," Faith said with disgust at the television.  
  
"No, no. I don't think so. I think he learned his lesson this time," Kim answered, writing on her board and showing it to Faith.  
  
"Hmmph. My tax dollars hard at work I see," said Doc jokingly as he walked over and sat down between the two women.  
  
"Doc! Great to see you. What the hell happened to you?" asked Faith, noticing the sling holding his arm in place.  
  
"Oh, uh, Carlos was driving..." Doc started only to be interrupted by a loud groan from Kim.  
  
"Carlos driving? R U CRAZY!!!!" Kim wrote on the board.  
  
"Doc, I thought you'd learned your lesson about letting Carlos drive," Faith said almost like she was scolding him.  
  
"No, no, nothing like that. Carlos was driving and this guy came around the corner from nowhere and almost ran us off the road. Carlos had to swerve and I kind of got thrown around the back. Dislocated my shoulder on one of the cabinets," he finished.  
  
"Great! Boy, they're going to have to replace everyone from the 55th at this rate. So how long you out of work for?" asked Faith.  
  
"Oh, like three weeks. I have to get some P.T., but I can go back to work while I'm doing that," he said to Kim and Faith. "So, how are you two doing?" he asked.  
  
"Well, the mute over here is healing nicely," Faith said, laughing and gesturing to Kim. Doc laughed as Kim gave Faith a dirty look and then laughed herself. "I'm doing pretty good with the P.T., but I'm worried about Bosco," she said.  
  
"Yeah, I heard he's still in the ICU. What happened?" he asked.  
  
"Some kind of residual internal bleeding. A leak or something," Faith explained, knowing that Doc would understand what she was talking about. "He finished in surgery during the night, but I haven't been able to talk to him yet. Every time I call upstairs, they say he's still sleeping," she said, somewhat frustrated.  
  
"Well, it's probably a combination of the anesthesia, the pain medication and his body being worn out. I wouldn't worry about it," he said, trying to calm her fears.  
  
"Tell you what. I'll go up and see if I can find out anything, okay?" he offered.  
  
"Doc, thanks. I'd really appreciate it," said Faith gratefully.  
  
"Okay. I'll be back in a few," he said as Kim and Faith's meal trays were being brought in. Doc noticed the unhappy look on Kim's face as she looked at the solid food on Faith's tray and saw her liquid diet because of her jaw being wired.  
  
Faith looked over at Kim and noticed her glare. "Kim, I'm sorry. Believe me, it tastes like garbage," she said. Doc chuckled as he walked out of the room. "Be right back," he said still laughing. "I'll bring you a chocolate shake from the cafeteria," he called back to Kim who heard and immediately smiled at the thought.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Doc went up to the ICU and got off the elevator. He saw a flurry of activity down the hall and glanced down at the list on the nurse's station to see what room Bosco was in. He walked down the hall, largely unnoticed by the staff as they were busy trying to resuscitate a patient across from Bosco's room. He looked in at the activity for a moment and then suddenly looked at Bosco's room as the alarms from his machine suddenly registered in Doc's ears.  
  
He ran into the room and saw that Bosco was unconscious and his breathing was very shallow. The man in the bed next to him was just sitting there. "Why didn't he call for anyone?" Doc thought as he grabbed an ambu bag from the rack on the wall and started breathing for Bosco, ignoring the pain shooting through his shoulder from his efforts. He looked across the hall and recognized Jenny, the nurse from the ER that had brought him to x-ray earlier. He didn't get a good look at the man in the bed next to Bosco or he would have recognized him as the man that he was just discussing with Dr. Jamison not a half hour ago.  
  
"Jenny! Jenny! Over here! We've got a problem in here," he called, finally getting her attention. He reached down and felt the last beat of Bosco's pulse. Before Jenny could get into the room Doc called out to her, "Call a Code! He's not breathing. No pulse!"  
  
He immediately put a compression board under Bosco's shoulder blades and prepared to start CPR. The call for a Code Blue went out throughout the floor again, but was additionally broadcast throughout the hospital as there was already one code being run on the floor and most of the staff was tied up with that. A couple of the staff from the emergency across the hall were directed to Bosco until more staff could arrive.  
  
Jenny had returned and was handing out medications that the resident was calling out to her to try to resuscitate Bosco. Doc was relieved of doing CPR by one of the orderlies and returned to ventilating Bosco. Finally, after a few minutes - that seemed like hours to Doc - another Code Team appeared in the doorway, led by Dr. Jamison.  
  
"Doc, what the hell's going on in here?!" Jamison yelled out to Doc.  
  
"I walked in on him like this. I don't know how long he was in trouble. He was still breathing and had a pulse when I got here, so he hasn't been down for more than a minute. I started CPR right away and got good perfusion so his brain should be okay," Doc rattled off to Dr. Jamison who assumed control of the situation.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Faith and Kim were finishing up their meals when they heard the speakers overhead come to life with something other than the normal pages.  
  
"Attention. Attention. Code Blue ICU. Repeat Code Blue ICU. Second Code Team please respond to ICU."  
  
The voice over the speaker repeated the message and Faith and Kim just looked at each other. Faith just had a gut feeling that Bosco was in trouble. She slowly and painfully got herself out of bed and into the wheelchair that was in the corner. Kim didn't try to stop her, knowing that she wanted to do the same thing, but was in traction and couldn't move without assistance.  
  
Kim reached over for the phone between the two beds and dialed up the firehouse. Luckily Jimmy answered so she didn't have to worry about not being understood. Jimmy had come to understand her mumbling through the wires.  
  
"Jimmy. Get over here. It's Bosco. Hurry!" she managed to get out.   
  
"Kimmy?" Jimmy said. "What's the matter? I'm on my way," he said, hanging up. He called into the Lieutenant that he had an emergency and had to get over to Mercy. The Lieutenant just assumed that Kim had a setback and let him go without question.  
  
Jimmy ran out of the station and saw Sully and Ty across the street just getting into their car.   
  
"Sully! Get over to Mercy. Something's happening to Bosco!" he yelled as he jumped into the back seat of the patrol car with them.  
  
Sully and Davis jumped in. Sully threw the car into 'drive' and sped away toward the hospital, Jimmy telling them what Kim had said.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... Hope you liked that one. 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
  
Sully, Ty and Jimmy all converged on Kim's room to find her crying and upset.  
  
"Kimmy, what's going on?" asked Jimmy soothingly, as he arrived at her side.  
  
Kim shrugged her shoulders indicating that she didn't know what was happening. She began furiously writing broken sentences on her board. "Bosco - surgery last night. Doc checking, then Code Blue in ICU. Faith went. That's all I know," she finished, holding the board up for the three to see.  
  
"Shit," said Sully as he and Davis left to head upstairs. Sully called over his shoulder, "We'll send word back to you ASAP."  
  
Jimmy stayed with Kim, trying to get her calmed down, hoping that Bosco was okay.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Faith had made it as far as the nurse's station in the wheelchair when her nurse stopped her. "Officer Yokas! Where do you think you're going?!"  
  
Faith pushed the nurse's hand off the wheelchair and started turning the wheels again. "I'm going to the ICU. I just know that the Code was for Bosco," she answered, finally making it to the elevator and pushing the button. The nurse remembered the story about Faith and her partner in the Emergency Room when they had arrived. She had seen it happen before and she wasn't about to keep Faith from her partner this time - if indeed it was him in trouble upstairs.  
  
The nurse called over to one of her co-workers, "Amy, I'm taking Officer Yokas up to ICU. Keep an eye on my patients. I'll be back as soon as I can." The young nurse nodded and Faith and her nurse got on the elevator and headed to the ICU.  
  
The elevator doors opened onto the unit and the nurse pushed Faith down the hall where she saw Sully and Davis standing in the hallway, their attention on what was going on in the room. "Sully!" Faith called to him. Ty and Sully looked in the direction of her voice and saw the look of fear on Faith.  
  
Sully walked quickly toward her, "Faith. It's Bosco. They're working on him. Doc's in there and so is Dr. Jamison from the ER."  
  
"What the hell happened Sully?!" she asked with confusion. "I don't know Faith. Let's just get him back and then we'll find out," he answered, taking her from the nurse and pushing her the rest of the way down the hall.  
  
"Get him back? What do you mean 'get him back'?" she asked insistently, sitting forward in the wheelchair so she could see into the room.  
  
"Oh my God!" she gasped as she saw the staff doing CPR and Doc ventilating Bosco. "Davis, look out. Let me in there," she ordered pushing Ty out of the way and wheeling herself into the room. A nurse tried to prevent her from entering, but Dr. Jamison yelled over to let her in. He too had seen what affect she'd had on Bosco in the ER.  
  
"Bosco! I'm here. You need to come back. You need to fight back. Do you hear me?" she yelled to him, tears streaming down her face. She reached out and grabbed onto his hand, "Please, Bosco. Don't leave me."  
  
Davis couldn't help but notice the other patient in Bosco's room. He almost seemed to be smiling at Bosco's plight. His bed had been shoved over to make room for the personnel and equipment that was being used to keep Bosco alive, but no one noticed the spent syringe that fell from the underside of the bed when it was moved.  
  
Suddenly, the room was silenced with six words, "Hold CPR. We have a rhythm," stated Dr. Jamison. Doc kept ventilating Bosco and everyone watched the monitor as the rhythm improved very slowly until he was again in normal sinus rhythm. He began spontaneous respirations on his own and Doc removed the ambu bag and replaced it with a simple face mask providing pure oxygen for him.  
  
"Bosco," came a quiet voice. It was Faith. "Bosco, can you hear me?" she asked, holding tightly to his hand. Dr. Jamison leaned over and moved a couple of pieces of equipment out of the way so that Faith could get closer. "Bosco, please open your eyes," she pleaded. He did not. He remained unconscious.   
  
After a short time more, it was decided that Bosco had been stabilized. The Code Team had dispersed, leaving only Dr. Jamison, the ICU staff and Bosco's fellow co-workers behind. All but Dr. Jamison and Faith returned to the hallway to wait. One of the nurse's was getting a very irritated Crisafulli settled, moving his bed back where it belonged and cleaning up the discarded medical supply wrappers that had been dropped on the floor during the Code. The innocent-looking syringe remained behind, the nurse not seen over by the wall where Crisafulli's bed had been pushed.  
  
"Okay, Mr. Crisafulli. Hopefully that's all the excitement for the night. We'll have to keep quite a close watch on Officer Boscorelli for a little while, which means that we'll be in and out constantly. So, we're going to move him into another room so we won't disturb you," she explained as she checked his IV and rearranged his blankets.  
  
Davis was looking through the glass at Bosco, when something made him look over to the other patient in the room. "What is it with that guy?" thought Davis aloud. "What guy?" asked Doc, looking from Ty into the room as he took the glass of water and pain medication that Dr. Jamison had ordered for him for his shoulder from the nurse.  
  
"That guy in the room with Bosco," he said simply. "Something is just bugging me about him. He had this really weird look on his face during that whole thing," he finished.  
  
"Yeah. You know when I first got here and noticed that something was wrong, even though he was awake and could clearly hear the alarm on the machine going off he didn't bother to call anyone," Doc relayed to Ty. "Hmm," Ty replied, as everyone turned toward the commotion coming off the elevator.  
  
Angela Boscorelli was practically running down the hallway with Mikey right behind her. "Faith!" she called out. "Faith, where are you?" she called again as she approached the crowd outside of her son's room. "Is he...?" were the only words she managed to get out as she grabbed hold of Sully's arm.  
  
"No. Mrs. Boscorelli. They were able to resuscitate him. But he's still unconscious. Faith's in with him," Sully finished, stepping aside to let her into the room.  
  
Ty told Sully that he would go down and let Jimmy and Kim know what was going on.  
  
Faith turned at the sound of someone coming in the room, tears still on her cheeks. "Faith?" Angela said quietly as she approached the bed. "What happened?" She reached over and put her hand on her son's leg to let him know that she was there.  
  
"I don't know Angela. Apparently, his heart stopped beating for a while. Luckily Doc was here and was able to start CPR right away. Then the doctor came in and they were able to bring him back," she said, as she started to cry again.  
  
Angela moved closer to Faith and put her arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her while she tried to absorb what had happened. "Doctor?" she said, catching Jamison's attention. "What happened to my boy?" she asked him.  
  
"Mrs. Boscorelli, Faith. I don't know what exactly happened, but we're going to run some tests to try to find out. He seems to be stable right now. Thanks to Doc out there," he said, motioning out toward the group in the hall. "He's the one that noticed he was in trouble and started CPR and summoned help. If not for him, who knows what might have happened," he stated. The patient in the other bed made a sort of growling sound loud enough to draw the attention of those in the room.  
  
"I'm sorry," the doctor said to the patient. "We're going to be out of your way in a just a few minutes. Please try to relax. I know it was a scary time," said the doctor as he went over to look over the chart. He saw the patient's name and realized that this was the patient that he had operated on for the infection in his ankle. He looked quite different since he was on the mend and had had a bath and shave.   
  
"Mr. Crisafulli," he started. "Let me take a look at that wound while I'm here. If everything is healing nicely and the infection is clearing up enough, we should be able to put you in a full cast and get you started on some physical therapy," he said, continuing to look over his chart. He noticed that the nurse had not yet given him is medications and said so to her.  
  
"Yes, Doctor. I was about to when all this happened," she said, motioning to Bosco and the man across the hall who had expired despite the staff's best efforts. "I'll do it right now," she said, looking around the table next to his bed for the syringe that she had left there. "Um," she said with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"What?" asked Jamison. "Um, I can't seem to find his medication. I must have left it out by the nurse's station," she explained, knowing that she would get in trouble for leaving controlled substances lying around - let alone right next to a patient. It was done all the time. There'd never been a problem before. It had probably gotten mixed up in the debris from Bosco's Code.   
  
"I'll go get it now," she said, rushing from the room. "Be right back Mr. Crisafulli," she said as she left.  
  
"Okay, let's take a look at that wound, shall we?" he said as he started to remove the dressing. The bandage stuck to the wound slightly and Crisafulli jumped as it pulled at his healing ankle, knocking the chart off the side of his bed. "Sorry about that," apologized Jamison, bending over to pick up the chart. He noticed the empty syringe lying on the floor and made a mental note to tell the nurse it was there when she returned.  
  
He finished checking over his patient, took one last look at Bosco and told Faith and Angela that he'd check back in a little bit.  
  
He walked out into the hallway and saw all the people waiting around. He spoke with them briefly and they all started to head out to the waiting area. Sully stuck his head into the room and told Faith that they'd be out in the waiting room. "Thanks Sully," Faith said as her nurse returned to the room.  
  
"Officer Yokas, I'm afraid I have to get you back downstairs to your room," she said apologetically.   
  
"No, I'm staying here," she stated matter of factly.   
  
"No, Officer, you're going back downstairs. I have my orders to follow and your due for your x-rays and medications," she said sternly as she walked over and took hold of the handles on the wheelchair.  
  
"Wait!" she said, grabbing onto Bosco's bed. "No! I need to stay here with him."  
  
"Faith," said Angela calmly. "Go ahead and get your x-rays and medicine. I'll stay here with Maurice. I promise. I'm not going anywhere. Mikey will go down with you and then he can bring you back up when you're done," she said, motioning for Mikey to go with Faith.  
  
"Yeah Faith. C'mon. I'll bring you right back up," Mikey told her.  
  
"Okay," she said, gradually giving in. "But I AM coming back up here," she said more for the nurse's benefit than anyone else's. "Bosco. I have to go get some x-rays and stuff, but I'll be right back. Please try to wake up. Everyone is here for you. Your Mom is right here until I get back," she said, lifting his hand up and holding it against her lips. She thought she felt slight movement in his fingers, but realized it must have been her imagination.  
  
"We'll see," the nurse responded. "No. I AM coming back here," Faith said leaving no room for argument.  
  
"It's okay Faith," said Dr. Jamison coming back into the room when he heard what Faith was saying. "After they move Bosco into the empty room up the hall, I'll have you moved up here also," he stated as the nurse gave him a dirty look. "Doctor, she doesn't need ICU care. She should be downstairs," she argued.  
  
"You know, she saved this man's life twice by being with him. I'll be damned if I'm going to separate them again," Jamison said, putting the nurse's objections out of the picture.  
  
"Yes, Doctor," she said finally, wheeling Faith away, Mikey following.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sully and Doc had come back down to Kim's room to join Davis and Jimmy and tell them what was going on. Kim had calmed down a bit, but was still shaken by the events.  
  
They talked for a little while until the announcement that visiting hours were over came over the PA system. Sully and Davis said their good-byes and shook hands with Jimmy.  
  
"How're you getting back to the station? You're working right?" asked Sully, remembering that they had driven him over in their RMP.  
  
"Oh, uh, I guess I better get going then," he said reluctantly, standing up after giving Kim a kiss. "You can call me at the station, no matter what time, okay?" he said and she nodded her head.  
  
"You know what Jimmy? If you give me a ride home, you can take my car back to the house. That medicine is kicking in and I don't think I can drive home," Doc said tiredly.   
  
"Sure, Doc. No problem, but how are you gonna get your car in the morning?" asked Jimmy. "Carlos is working. I'll have him bring it by when he gets off shift and he can take a cab from there," he said.  
  
"Cool," Jimmy said, taking a deep breath and saying goodnight to Kim, who was feverishly writing something on her board.  
  
She held the board up toward Doc and he read it and laughed. "Tomorrow. I promise I'll bring you TWO shakes tomorrow." Everyone chuckled and headed out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Well, I haven't posted in a while, but I hope you like this chapter. More to follow soon. 


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
  
Carlos and Alex brought a patient into the emergency room and were in the lounge having coffee and filling out the paperwork. Dr. Jamison walked in to grab another cup of coffee. It had been a terrible night with non-stop traumas coming through the emergency room. It seemed as if every patient that came in needed surgery and this was the first free time he'd had since the Code Blue in ICU earlier in the evening. He ached everywhere. He rubbed his face and felt the stubble. He should really grab a shower and a shave before his day of office patients started. "Thank God I don't have any surgeries scheduled for today," he thought to himself gratefully, seriously considering whether to call his secretary and have her cancel the day's patients.  
  
"Hey, Doctor Jamison!" greeted Carlos as the doctor came through the door. Alex also looked up and greeted the doctor as he headed over to the empty coffee pot. He picked up the pot and saw that it was empty. "Shit," he mumbled as he roughly set the pot down and looked at the wall, his eyes landing on but not really seeing the picture of the hit and run driver.  
  
Alex stood up and walked over. "Sorry about that. I guess I took the last cup. Let me just throw on a fresh pot for you," she said apologetically as she got the supplies from the cabinet and got the coffee pot brewing.  
  
"Thanks Alex," Jamison said, stifling a yawn and flopping down in the old, worn leather couch in the corner. He flipped on the television and stared at it, not hearing a word that the infomercial was saying.   
  
"You look like you had a hell of a shift," said Alex, drying her hands off and returning to the table to finish her paperwork.   
  
"Yeah, it all started with you friend, Officer Boscorelli," he started, yawning again. "I can't believe that guy can bounce back from so much."  
  
"What d'you mean?" asked Carlos. Alex and Carlos had been busy and hadn't been back to the station between calls to hear about the excitement from earlier in the evening.  
  
"He coded in the ICU earlier. We got him back, but I still don't know what happened. I'm waiting for some test results," he finished, looking at his watch. "I should probably run up there and check for the results," Jamison said, dragging himself to his feet.  
  
"So, is Bosco going to be okay?" Alex asked, standing up and pouring the doctor a cup of fresh coffee and handing it to him.  
  
"Too early to tell just yet, but I think so. Doc was right there when he actually coded and he started CPR right away, so that was lucky," he said, taking the cup of coffee and adding his cream and sugar. He took a sip. "Mmmm. Thanks, Alex. Take care guys," he said as he left to head upstairs.  
  
"Wow. That's something about Bosco," commented Carlos as Alex gathered up her clipboard and the two headed back to the rig.   
  
"Yeah, I hope he's okay," Alex replied.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Faith had gotten her x-rays and was brought back up to Bosco's room, where she sat on her bed, not taking her eyes off of her partner. She couldn't believe that she had almost lost him again. She just watched him the rest of the night - afraid to sleep. She didn't know how much more his body could take. She watched the rhythm of his breathing and felt herself being lulled to sleep. Somehow the daylight made her feel better about laying down and taking a nap.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Crisafulli had been moved out of Bosco's room and settled just down the hall. He was fuming. He couldn't believe that the officer had survived yet again. But, he did smile at the thought of having the two officers in the same room so close to him. He knew that he would be moved out of the ICU very shortly and was looking forward to the time that he could move about more freely without doctors and nurses coming in to check on him every few minutes. He had noticed during his move where the stairwell was in relation to his new room and that of the two officers and thought that it would be fairly easy to sneak in, do his worst, and get back out again before being noticed. He smiled to himself as another nurse came in to check on his vital signs and IV.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dr. Jamison looked up as the elevator doors opened and stepped out onto the ICU. It was considerably calmer than when he was last here. There were a couple of nurses at the nurse's station updating charts and it looked like it was medication time - the medication cart was making its way down the hall for those that were due for their next doses.  
  
He walked over to the desk and pulled Bosco's chart, flipping it open. He noticed that the latest test results were back and made a mental note to find out why the nurse hadn't called to let him know as he'd instructed. He read through the chart and frowned when he came to the level of morphine that was in the Officer's system at the time of his crisis. There was a note on the front of the chart clearly indicating that he was allergic to morphine. He flipped back and forth through the chart a few times and then closed and tucked it under his arm as he walked back toward Bosco's room.  
  
He rounded the corner and saw that Faith Yokas had been moved to his room and both patients were sleeping peacefully. He walked over to Bosco's bed and looked at the monitors, happy that all readings were within normal limits. He pulled down the covers and lifted up the hospital gown to check on his surgical wounds following the trauma of the CPR compressions. There were a couple of sutures at the end of the incision that looked a little "iffy," but he quickly decided that they would not affect the proper healing of the wounds. As he was examining Bosco's chest he heard and saw the breathing pattern change and knew that his patient was beginning to wake up.   
  
"Officer Boscorelli," he said gently and waited for Bosco to slowly open his eyes. He noticed the look of confusion come over the officer as he began to feel the beating his body had taken only a few hours before. "Welcome back," he said.  
  
Bosco slowly focused on the man in front of him. He recognized him as the doctor that had done his surgery. He tried to talk, but realized that there was a tube down his throat. Dr. Jamison held up a hand to calm him and began to explain.  
  
"Officer, you had quite a rough night. The surgery went great, but you had some complications and ended up going into cardiac arrest. That explains the amount of pain that you have in your ribs - and just when they were starting to feel better. I'm sorry," Jamison said lightly.  
  
"You're lucky that Doc happened to be walking by. He heard your monitor and came in just as your heart stopped. He kept you alive until we got here with the equipment," he said, pausing to see if Bosco was keeping up. Bosco brought his hand up and motioned that he wanted the tube out of his throat.  
  
Faith awoke to Dr. Jamison's voice, "I can probably arrange that. Hang on and I'll get a nurse to help and we'll get rid of that." Dr. Jamison started to turn to leave and noticed that Faith too was awake.   
  
"Officer, you have someone waiting to see you," he said, motioning toward Faith. "Bosco?" she called to him. Bosco turned his head slowly and tried to focus on Faith who wore a very concerned look. He gave her a 'thumbs up' sign and let his arm fall back to the bed. He was just so tired. He couldn't keep his eyes open and he drifted back to sleep.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dr. Jamison had walked back out to the nurse's station and asked Jenny to come and help him extubate Bosco. As they were walking down the hallway, the doctor asked Jenny, "So, why didn't I get a call when Boscorelli's labs got back?"  
  
"What? I'm sorry, Doctor. I wasn't aware they were back," she said nervously. "I must have checked right before they arrived and I was busy with some other patients. I'm sorry," she said, a funny sound escaping her throat.  
  
Dr. Jamison looked down at her and noticed that she was about to start crying. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so hard on you," he said, not thinking that he had been too had on her, but realizing that he was tired and maybe the way he said it had sounded mean.  
  
Jenny shook her head. "No, it's not you. I just don't want to lose my job," she said finally, tears coming down her face.   
  
"What are you talking about? Why would you lose your job?" he asked, putting a hand on her arm and stopping her in the hallway.  
  
"Because I left that patient's medication lying around during those two codes earlier and I can't find it. Now I have to do a report on missing narcotics and I'll probably lose my job. I'm still on my six-month's probation," she finished, trying to take a deep breath and get control of herself.  
  
Suddenly, despite how tired he was, a light went on in Jamison's mind. "Jenny? What was the medication that got lost? Was it morphine?" he asked, answering the question for her.  
  
She nodded her head and looked up at him. "Yes, Doctor. I'm very sorry. It won't happen again, I swear."  
  
"Jenny, are you sure you didn't administer that medication to Officer Boscorelli in all the confusion?" he asked her, his weariness lifting slightly with a surge of adrenaline at possibly figuring out what had caused Bosco's cardiac arrest.  
  
"No, Sir. I know I didn't. I set it down when the first code started across the hall. Both patients were still sleeping so I didn't think it would be a problem," Jenny confessed, ashamed of her error. "But, when the second code started and I ran into the room, I don't remember seeing the syringe anymore. I thought I'd left it somewhere else and was going to look for it later," she explained.  
  
Just then, Dr. Jamison remembered the empty syringe that he had seen lying on the floor after Bosco's code. "Jenny, follow me," he said, pulling her by the arm.   
  
Both Dr. Jamison and Jenny practically ran into Bosco and Faith's room, startling both of the patients. Dr. Jamison went directly over to Faith's side of the room and looked on the floor near the window. Sure enough, an empty syringe was there. He picked it up, avoiding the needle, and held it up for Jenny to see. "I believe I've just found your missing hypodermic," he said, with a smile. "Now if only I can figure out how it got injected into Officer Boscorelli here," he said, looking at Bosco and then Faith who were obviously looking at him like he was crazy.  
  
"Sorry. Jenny, help me to extubate Officer Boscorelli and then we can talk about this some more," he said excitedly as his pager went off. He looked at the pager and realized he was late for the patient's in his office and his secretary was trying to find him. He picked up the phone next to Bosco's bed and called his office.  
  
"Jodi. I'm in the middle of an emergency. You're going to have to cancel my patients. Anyone that has to be seen today will have to either go to the clinic or the ER and I'll smooth it over with the Chief of ER later," he said, listening to her on the other end. "I'm sorry Jodi. It can't be helped. Reschedule them for Saturday, I'll make it up then," he finished and hung up the phone. He smiled and looked over at Jenny. "And you, you'll be helping me see patients on Saturday, without pay, out of the goodness of your heart," he said before she could object.  
  
The tube was removed from Bosco's throat and he was trying to swallow, but it hurt. Jenny handed him some water. "Drink it really slowly, Bosco," she warned. "And only a tiny bit," she instructed.  
  
Faith finally spoke up. "Doc, you wanna tell us what's going on?" she asked him, sitting herself up in the bed.  
  
Jamison put the used syringe into a plastic bag and held it up. "Officer Boscorelli, you're allergic to morphine, right?" he asked. Bosco nodded his head and Faith pointed to the table and said, "Yeah, it's right there on his chart."   
  
Well, when the patient across the hall from you coded, Jenny here was just about to give your former roommate his dose of morphine. She put the syringe down and went to help out with the code. "Jenny, did you ask someone else to finish giving out your medications?"  
  
Jenny shook her head no, "Everyone was busy. There was no one else to give out the meds."  
  
"So, now we have to figure out how this morphine got injected into your IV tubing. Your lab tests show that you had morphine, a pretty big dose, in your system when you coded.  
  
Bosco grabbed at his throat and frowned. "Please stop saying 'coded'," he said in a very low whisper.  
  
"Do you remember anyone coming into your room and giving you any medications?" Jamison asked Bosco. He started to shake his head no, but then remembered that he had seen a dark figure just before he couldn't breathe anymore.   
  
He whispered again, "There was someone in the room when I started feeling really weird. Whoever it was, held something up but I couldn't make out what it was and then everything went black." Bosco started to cough from the talking and it caused severe pain in his now re-broken ribs due to the CPR.  
  
"Bosco, try to calm down," Faith said, sitting forward. Then she turned to Jamison and said, "Doc, there's one way to find out who last touched that needle. Keep it in that bag and hand me the phone," she instructed.  
  
She dialed the 55th Precinct and asked for Lieutenant Swersky.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... Hope you are still with me. 


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alex, Carlos, Ty and Sully were at their favorite Mexican food place on their break. Sully was in the middle of telling Alex and Carlos exactly what had happened to Bosco and how lucky he was that Doc happened to be walking in to check on him for Faith when he coded.  
  
"...then, Bosco's mother and brother came in and boy was she hot," Sully was saying. When we left, Faith and Bosco's mother were ganging up on the nurse about moving Faith in with Bosco whether she needed the ICU bed or not," he said.  
  
"Yeah, well I guess Faith and Mrs. B. won out because when we stopped over today to check in on Bosco, the other patient was gone and Faith was in the bed next to Bosco keeping vigil," Davis finished.  
  
"Well, from what I've heard about Bosco's mother and what I've seen from Faith, Bosco's like a bear cub being protected by two mother bears," Alex said with a smile. "Ain't nothing or no one gonna get past them."  
  
"Well, she sure gave me the once over when I went back with Doc this morning. I brought his car back to him after Jimmy had it last night and he was driving me home and wanted to stop by and see how Bosco was doing," explained Carlos.  
  
"Like I said, mother bear and her cub," Alex said.  
  
Just as they were all throwing in money to pay the bill, the dispatcher came on.   
"55-Charlie."  
  
"55-Charlie," responded Ty. "55-Charlie, call the station ASAP for the Lieutenant."  
  
"10-4," he answered. "Wonder what that's all about?" he said aloud, handing his cell phone to Sully to use.  
  
Alex, Ty and Carlos were talking outside by their vehicles when Sully finished with the Lieutenant and handed the phone back to Ty. "Well, here's an interesting little tidbit of information boys and girls," he taunted.  
  
"What?" asked Carlos, his interest peaked.  
  
"Swersky wants us to head over to Mercy and meet Dr. Jamison in the lounge. Apparently, the good doctor has some evidence Swersky wants us to pick up and transport to the lab boys," said Sully.  
  
"What kind of evidence?" asked Davis and Alex at the same time and then looked at each other smiling.  
  
Sully rolled his eyes, "I don't know, Junior. What say we head over there and find out," he said taking the keys out of his pocket and walking around to the driver's side of the RMP.  
  
Ty gave Alex a wink, "Catch you after the shift?"  
  
"Absolutely," she responded, nonchalantly hitting Davis on the butt on his way by. The show of affection did not go unnoticed by Carlos.  
  
"Isn't that assaulting a police officer?" he teased.  
  
"Oh, that's nothing," she teased him right back. "You should see what I do to him after hours."  
  
He laughed and got into the rig.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Crisafulli heard two of the nurses talking outside of his room and knew that there were detectives on the floor going in and out of Officers Boscorelli's and Yokas's room. He was desperately trying to think of what to do in case they were somehow on to him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco was again being asked a million questions about what he remembered from right before he went unconscious. It was difficult for him to breathe and he was having a hard time talking. He looked totally exhausted and Faith was not happy. Angela Boscorelli was even less happy when she was put out of the room by the detectives while they were asking their questions. She did not go quietly, but Faith finally talked her into leaving by telling her that there was no way she was going to leave Bosco's side.  
  
The detective started going at Bosco again and Lt. Swersky was watching Faith's reaction, waiting for her to go ballistic. He didn't particularly care for the detective that was there and was looking forward to Faith going off on him.  
  
"Look!" Faith finally interrupted. "How many times can he say that he didn't see the person clearly?! Do you understand what he's been through? He almost died - TWICE. He can hardly talk because they broke his ribs all over again with the CPR and he said eight times if he said it once, HE DIDN'T GET A GOOD LOOK AT THE GUY!!! Now back off and give him a break!" she finished, fully prepared to get up off the bed and kick the detective's ass if he didn't.  
  
Lieutenant Swersky stepped forward with a smirk on his face. "And, there you have it, Detective. I think Officer Yokas speaks for us all. Why don't you try to interview some of the staff or something and let Officer Boscorelli get some rest," he said, the whole time walking the detective toward the door. When he had gotten him just outside the doorway into the hall, he pulled the sliding door of the room closed and locked it.  
  
The Lieutenant turned back toward his two officers and everyone took a deep breath. Bosco was already fighting to keep his eyes open and Faith was up on her crutches moving toward Bosco. "I think that's enough for tonight," the Lieutenant said quietly.   
  
"What was with that guy?" asked Faith with a look of disgust on her face as she stared at him through the glass door. She made it over to Bosco's bedside and put a hand gently and protectively on his chest. Bosco reached up and rested his hand over hers.  
  
"He's just trying to catch this whacko," explained the Lieutenant, not really wanting to defend him, but understanding it just the same.  
  
Bosco had relaxed enough to fall asleep, but wore a pained look on his face. The nurse tried to open the door to give him his pain medication and was unable because the Lieutenant had locked it. She rapped on the glass with her knuckles and Swersky walked over and unlocked the door. "Sorry," he said simply.  
  
"I don't suppose you could do that to the elevator doors after you move some your people out of here," she replied, obviously annoyed with the activity in her unit.  
  
"Sorry. But, we have a job to do. I'll talk to my people and see if we can get some of these people to work outside of the ICU, away from your patients," he conceded.  
  
"Thanks," the nurse said, somewhat satisfied. She administered the pain medication through Bosco's IV tubing and Faith relaxed a little as she saw the pained look on Bosco's face fade and watched him sleep peacefully.   
  
Lieutenant Swersky saw the way that Faith was looking at Bosco and stepped out in order to give her some time alone with him.  
  
After a few moments, Faith had noticed that there was no one in the room except for her and Bosco. She moved her hand out from under his on his chest and brought it up to the side of his face. He stirred slightly and his eyes fluttered open momentarily.  
  
"It's okay, Bos. I've got your back," she said. She leaned over him and kissed his lips, feeling him weakly respond with his own kiss. And then he was sound asleep, the rhythm of his breathing slow and deep.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Alex and Carlos were again in the ER and saw that Dr. Jamison was with a patient across the hall from their own.   
  
"Ready?" asked Carlos after he had finished getting the replacement supplies from their last call.  
  
"Yeah, hang on. Jamison's in there and I want to try to find out what's going on," Alex said as they hung around outside the treatment room until Dr. Jamison finally emerged.  
  
"Hey guys," the doctor said with his usual easy smile.  
  
"Hey yourself. What's the big mystery that Sully and Davis had to come over and get from you?" Alex asked.  
  
"Sorry, that's confidential. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," he said, winking at Alex and starting to walk away toward the lounge.  
  
"Wait," said Carlos. "You can tell us. We won't say anything to anyone," he insisted as they followed him into the lounge.  
  
He looked over his shoulder at the two medics as he grabbed the pot of coffee. He looked back to pour a cup and said, "Let's just say that I might have provided the police with a lead on this hit and run psycho," he said smugly, setting down the pot and reaching for the cream and sugar.  
  
"Okay, okay," Alex finally said, giving up. "But, you have to promise to tell us as soon as you can," she insisted.  
  
"Deal," Jamison replied. "Take it easy guys. Please give me a quiet night tonight."  
  
"We'll see what we can do," Carlos said as they headed back out to work.  
  
Jamison grabbed a napkin to wipe up where he had dripped some coffee. He wadded up the napkin and walking over to the door of the lounge, turned suddenly and shot, watching as the napkin rebounded off the wall and into the wastebasket. "Two points," he said, turning and walking out.  
  
Before the door to the lounge had even closed, Dr. Jamison slowly walked back into the room and over to the pot. He stared at the wall where the paper basketball had rebounded off the bulletin board. What he saw there made his stomach churn. He grabbed the phone on the wall and dialed the number for ICU.  
  
"Lieutenant Swersky," he said as the nurse in the ICU answered the phone.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC. Sorry a little bit shorter than I usually write, but it seemed like a good place to stop. And you know how much I like cliffhangers! ;) 


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The young student nurse came down the hallway to the makeshift office that was set up in one of the empty rooms near the waiting room. She knocked lightly on the door, clearing her throat to get someone's attention.  
  
All eyes turned to her waiting to hear what it was she needed. "Um, is there a Lieutenant Swersky here?" she asked timidly.  
  
"I'm Swersky," replied the Lieutenant.  
  
"Lieutenant, I have a phone call for you at the desk. It's Dr. Jamison from the ER," she finished.  
  
"On my way," he said to the young girl and she turned to walk back toward the desk. Swerksy got up from his chair with a heavy sigh. "I really can't afford to have any more of my people injured," he said aloud, figuring that was the only reason that the ER would be calling him.  
  
He made his way to the desk, glancing into Faith and Bosco's room on he way by. He absently noticed a patient in another room of the ICU walking around in his room, not even thinking that usually patients in the ICU are unable to get around on their own. He continued on to the desk and picked up the phone that the nurse indicated.  
  
"Swersky," he said gruffly into the phone. He listened to the voice on the other end.  
  
"Lieutenant, I was in the lounge down here and I happened to look at the bulletin board. I've looked at it a thousand times before and I can't believe I never put it together before," Dr. Jamison said very quickly.  
  
"Put what together?" asked the Lieutenant, losing patience.  
  
"I happened to glance at the bulletin board and saw the flier on that hit and run guy you're looking for. You know, Samuel Benson?" Jamison said.  
  
"What about him?" asked the Lieutenant, getting a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach - the feeling he always got before a case broke open.  
  
"Well, I didn't recognize him right away because he came in looking quite different from the picture you guys have on the flier. But, that guy is a patient of mine - and he's in the ICU right now. He's listed under the name of Simon Crisafulli and he was roomed with Bosco at the time that he coded. That explains how the morphine got into him - Crisafulli must have done it!" Jamison finally finished.  
  
"Get up here!" Swersky yelled into the phone, hanging it up. He looked at the young nurse and asked, "What room for Crisafulli?"  
  
"What?" she said nervously.  
  
"Simon Crisafulli! What room is he in?" he said again, realizing he was scaring the young girl.  
  
She grabbed the patient list and ran her finger down the names. "Room 4," she answered, pointing the Lieutenant in the direction of the room.  
  
The Lieutenant grabbed the microphone from his portable and called down to their makeshift office down the hall for back-up, "This is Swersky. I need you guys in ICU Room 4 for hit and run suspect. I need one man to cover the patients in Room 6," he said, thinking that Benson might try to finish the job on Bosco. "Get someone down to the medic's room on the 4th floor also," he ordered. He heard the chairs in the office being shuffled and saw the first of the officers come out into the hallway, head in his direction and duck into Bosco's room. The Lieutenant held up his hand for them to be quiet as he approached the room. He pulled his gun from his holster and unfastened the safety. He stopped at the doorway and peeked around into the room. He saw the bed was empty and carefully entered the room, checking the dark corners. He flipped on the light and determined that the room was empty. "Dammit!" he said out loud as the fellow officers came in behind him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dr. Jamison hung up the phone, told the nurse at the desk he was heading up to ICU, ran to the elevator and pushed the button. After a moment, the elevator car came to his floor and the door opened. He stepped in, not noticing that Sully and Davis were coming through the ER doors with a drunk with a scalp laceration. He turned to push the button for the ICU when he noticed the man standing in the corner of the otherwise empty car. He looked at the man's face and realized that it was Samuel Benson - the patient he knew as Simon Crisafulli.  
  
"Finally put the pieces together I see, Doctor," sneered Benson as he grabbed the doctor around the shoulders and pulled him toward him, turning his face away from him at the same time. Before he knew what had happened, Jamison was standing in front of the man, his back to him, with a scalpel held to his throat.   
  
"Push the basement button," ordered Benson. Dr. Jamison reached out and pushed "B" and the elevator door closed and the car descended.  
  
Just as Sully and Davis were handing over their patient to the care of the ER, they heard Lieutenant Swersky's transmission over their portable from upstairs. Sully and Davis quickly looked at each other and Sully cuffed their prisoner to the handrail on the gurney and took off.   
  
"You take the south stairs and I'll take the north," he yelled to Davis as the two parted company and headed up the stairwells. Davis yelled over to the security officer in the ER, "Lock down all exits! No one leaves until you hear further." He saw the security guard spring into action. As they were heading up the stairs, they heard another transmission from the Lieutenant, "Central, this is Lt. Swerksy. I need back-up cars to Mercy Hospital. We have a lead on the hit and run driver and need available back-up at my location."  
  
"Central to Lieutenant. I show 55-Charlie at your location. I'll advise and dispatch additional units," came the reply from the dispatcher.  
  
Before the dispatcher could contact them, Sully grabbed his microphone, "55-Charlie - we're on it. My partner and I are taking the north and south stairwells. We have security locking down the exits."  
  
"10-4, 55-Charlie. Lieutenant do you copy?" came the voice of the dispatcher.  
  
"10-4. Sully, this guy is on foot somewhere. We're checking the floor. Report to me upon your arrival," ordered the Lieutenant.   
  
Davis reached the ICU floor first and came out onto the floor, gun drawn. He saw Sully enter the floor from the north stairwell a moment later and the two began a search heading toward the center of the floor.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bosco and Faith were quietly watching television and resting. Bosco was drifting in and out of sleep due to the pain medication for his broken ribs. They were both startled by the sound of someone entering their room in a rush. They looked up to see one of the detectives, gun drawn, checking on them.   
  
"What the hell's going on Dixon?" asked Faith, trying not to sound alarmed and glancing over at Bosco.  
  
"Hit and run guy is all I heard. I was told to get in here and cover you guys. That's all I got so far," he said looking around the room and returning to the doorway to prevent anyone from entering.  
  
"Perfect," Bosco said weakly. "Just what I need," he said, rubbing his chest lightly, fully awake now.  
  
"He wouldn't be stupid enough to come back in here, Bos," she said, more to reassure her self than Bosco.  
  
Davis made his way up the hallway, checking each room along the way. He passed by Bosco and Faith's room and nodded to them on the way by.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jimmy was sitting in Kim's room waiting for her to return from her x-rays when a uniformed officer came into the room, gun drawn. He looked up and stood up quickly. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Who are you?" asked the officer. "Let me see some ID," he ordered.  
  
Jimmy slowly reached into his back pocket for his wallet, "I'm Jimmy Doherty. This is my wife's room, Kim Zambrano. What's going on?" he asked again, showing the officer his fire department identification and his license.  
  
"Hit and run driver may be in the building was all I was told. Where's your wife?" asked the officer.  
  
"She's down the hall in x-ray. Get down there," he said, not wanting to waste any more time here. The officer exited the room and headed for the x-ray department. Jimmy followed him.  
  
They entered the department and quickly located Kim in a room. She was done being x-rayed and was waiting from someone from transportation to bring her back to her room. Jimmy filled her in on what was going on and began wheeling her back to her room, the police officer accompanying them.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dr. Jamison and Samuel Benson exited through the loading dock of the hospital and made their way to the doctor's parking lot.   
  
"Okay, Doc. I know you've got a car here somewhere. Let's get to it," he ordered. Jamison hesitated for a moment and felt the blade of the scalpel push against his carotid artery. "Don't be a hero," he heard Benson whisper in his ear. He moved toward his car, grabbing the keys out of his pocket as he heard the approaching sirens.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC.... Soon, I promise. 


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dr. Jamison maneuvered his maroon Explorer out the rear exit of the doctor's parking lot. Benson was hidden on the back floor, but held the scalpel between the console at the Jamison's side.  
  
Dr. Jamison was feverishly trying to think of a way to leave some kind of clue as to which way they headed. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Lieutenant realized the he'd never shown up from the ER and they would start trying to find him.  
  
He saw police cars approaching at all entrances and exits and tried to find a way to delay until they had the exits blocked, but Benson caught on and jabbed at his side, breaking the skin with the scalpel. "Move it," he said. "And you better not draw attention to yourself," he added.  
  
Jamison calmly drove toward the guard shack and frowned when he noticed that it was unmanned. He didn't realize that all security personnel had been called inside to help lock down the exits of the hospital as ordered by Davis. He slowed his vehicle, preparing to stop at the parking gate in order to insert his electronic card when Benson jabbed him in the side again. "I said to keep moving and don't draw attention!"  
  
"Well, I'd say that driving through the gate would draw attention," Jamison said, grimacing at the pain in his side. "I have to insert my card to make the gate go up," he said, trying to hide his frustration so that he didn't aggravate Benson.  
  
"Just do what you have to do and remember I don't have any problem killing you," he warned.  
  
Jamison inserted his parking card and the gate rose. He casually dropped the card to the ground outside the guard shack door and breathed a sigh of relief that it didn't bounce and land under the edge of the curb and out of sight. He drove past the gate and stopped at the edge of the lot.   
  
"Which way?" he asked Benson.   
  
"Take a right," Benson answered. Jamison turned right and headed away from the hospital, the police cars approaching the hospital in his rearview mirror. He suddenly got a nervous feeling when he didn't hear any more from his passenger. A few moments later, when they were far enough away from the hospital and it was safe for him to sit up, Benson climbed from the backseat and settled into the passenger seat. They continued on for a distance.  
  
"Take a right up here," he said, indicating a long and winding road leading to a secluded neighborhood. Jamison had an uneasy feeling creep over him as he made the turn.   
  
"This is it," he thought to himself. "He doesn't need me anymore." He just hoped that this man would just let him out of the car unharmed, but he somehow doubted it.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The floor had been checked and Lt. Swersky, Davis and Sully were standing in the middle of the floor at the nurse's station. They were discussing what their next move would be and Swersky was on the radio finding out how many units he had at the hospital and where they were distributed.  
  
All of a sudden, Lieutenant Swersky turned, looking around him. "Where the hell is Jamison," he asked looking at the medical personnel standing around.  
  
The young nurse that had given him the phone call that got everything started apparently appointed herself as the Lieutenant's surrogate secretary. She stood up from her desk and said, "I contacted the ER and the nurse there said that he left for there as soon as he got off the phone with you. She said she saw him get on the elevator, but he never arrived here. I've paged him numerous times with no response. Would you like me to do anything else right now?"  
  
Sully and Davis looked at each other and Davis made a face, raising his eyebrows, as if to say, "Who the hell died and appointed her boss?" Sully just rolled his eyes as the Lieutenant responded.  
  
"Thank you, uh, Ms. Simpson," he said, taking in the name on her nametag. "Nothing right now, but please let me know if anyone comes across Dr. Jamison." The Lieutenant turned around and made a face at his two officers.   
  
Suddenly, Sully had a thought and turned to the hospital's Head of Security. "Do you know if Dr. Jamison drives a car to work?" The Lieutenant perked up at this and turned to the man and waited for the answer.  
  
"Yes, he drives a 2001 Ford Explorer, maroon. He parks it in the same spot every day," responded the man.  
  
"Can you have one of your people check to see if it's still in the lot? Also, have them look up the Good Doctor's license plate number," Sully advised the man. With that, the security officer headed down to his office.  
  
"Good thinking," said the Lieutenant. "Let's head down the hall to the office and see what we need to do next." All the personnel that had been congregating around the nurse's station left to head down the hall. The nurse called after them, "Lieutenant? I'll be right here until 11:00 if you need me. And, it's Susan."  
  
The Lieutenant turned back and said with a smile, "Thank you, Susan. I'll let you know." He turned back toward his officers and said quietly, "If Marion was that good, I'd be all set," referring to his secretary at the precinct.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Okay, pull over here," ordered Benson making Dr. Jamison's stomach tighten even more. He was running over ideas in his head to try to escape, but was unable to come up with any sure-fire solution.  
  
He pulled the truck to a stop and put it in park. He didn't dare turn toward the man for fear of irritating him further. "So, what to do with you?" Benson said out loud.  
  
"What's to do? Take the truck - it's yours. It'll take me a good hour to walk back to the hospital and you could be long gone," Dr. Jamison suggested.  
  
Benson thought for a moment. "Well, I don't see what harm you could do. They already know about me and you did save my life and leg," he said as Jamison relaxed a little.  
  
Benson reached over and took the keys from the ignition. He got out of the vehicle and walked around the front of the vehicle. "Get out," Benson ordered as he came around to the driver's side. Jamison did as he was ordered hoping that Benson was simply going to leave him by the side of the road and take off in his truck.   
  
Benson pushed the door of the truck closed and stood face to face with the man who had saved his life. After a moment of silence, Dr. Jamison decided to ask his question. "So, can I ask you why you're doing all this?"  
  
"Why?" Benson repeated incredulously. "I'll tell you why. Because my family is dead. Because of the cowards that are the NYPD and the FDNY. They let my wife and daughter die because they were afraid to try to save them," he said angrily. He went on to explain about the accident on the rain-slicked road that night.  
  
When he had finished, Jamison shook his head. "Don't you understand? They weren't afraid to save your family. They tried. What good would it have done if, one by one, each one tried and got swept downriver just like you? They had to take the time to try to get to them safely - so they were still around to pull them from the car. It wasn't the FDNY and NYPD that killed your family, it was an accident."  
  
"NO!" shouted Benson, shaking his head vigorously. "NO! You're wrong. I saw them. They just stood around not doing anything until they saw me hanging on. Then they went for the easy rescue. I begged them to forget about me - to just save Anne and Jessica," he screamed, suddenly seeing his daughter in his mind.  
  
"Jessica," he whispered. He looked again at Dr. Jamison. "Anne was lucky enough to be unconscious. She didn't know she was dying. I had to listen to Jessica's screams. I had to listen to her terror as the water took her from me while they just stood by and let it happen!" he yelled, referring to the emergency workers.  
  
"I've been with these guys! I see what they do everyday! They didn't - WOULDN'T - just let your family die. They just ran out of time," Jamison said, desperately trying to reason with the man.  
  
"No! You weren't there. You don't know. I watched them... I watched my family die and they did NOTHING!" he finished. Jamison tried to continue to reason with Benson but he didn't want to hear anymore. "No more! No more talking!" he screamed.  
  
Benson looked up and down the road, searching his mind for what to do. Suddenly, he lashed out at Jamison with the scalpel, cutting him across the abdomen deeply. Jamison jumped back, but not fast enough to avoid the insult to his midsection. He felt the scalpel enter his abdomen - felt the burn of the cut - felt the immediate flow of blood as he lost his balance and fell backward into the ditch along side of the road striking his head on a rock and coming to rest unconscious.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Nurse Simpson hung up the phone and walked down the hallway to where the Lieutenant was coordinating the efforts. She walked in the door, past the uniformed and plainclothes officers as if she were one of them. They all stared at her in surprise.  
  
"Lieutenant, I just received a call from Harold down in Security. He said that Dr. Jamison's truck is gone. They found his parking key card alongside the security shack. They must have gotten away before all the exits were blocked," she surmised. She handed him a slip of paper that she'd written down the license plate on.  
  
Swersky took the paper and turned toward Sully and Ty. "This guy's in the wind. Get out on the streets and start looking. I want five officers to stay here and start checking the building again. I'm calling in ESU to help search the building. I'll call dispatch and put out an APB on the truck." He looked over at the head of Security that had come back. "I want the lock-down of the hospital to continue until ESU clears the building and then I want ID's on everyone coming in or out of the building checked." Having finished everything he needed to say, he finished with "Go."   
  
Sully, Davis and the other officers took off to hit the streets. The Lieutenant turned to get to the phone and just about tripped over Susan. "Excuse me," he said, trying to be polite. She stepped aside. "What do you want me to do now?" she asked.  
  
"Susan, I need you to go to Room 6 and check on my officers. Make sure no one has gotten into their room. Then I want you to go down to the 4th floor and check on the medic to see that she's okay. You've done a good job here today and I thank you. We'll be leaving the floor since Benson's no longer here. I want to thank you for your help," he finished, trying not to smile as he saw the young woman light up with his praise. She had been a big help, but he needed to get her out of his way. There was nothing more for her to do.  
  
He turned away and picked up the phone and asked for the Dispatch Supervisor. Susan left to perform her tasks as she heard him say, "Dispatch, this is Lieutenant Swersky from the 55. I want an APB out on a 2001 Ford Explorer, color maroon. License plate is New York, Adam-Victor-Boy 2-8-2-1. Plate returns to a Jamie Jamison, M.D. Vehicle stolen from the lot of Mercy Hospital by suspected hit and run suspect, Samuel Benson. Advise all units that Dr. Jamison is unaccounted for and most likely being held hostage by the suspect. Suspect should be considered armed and extremely dangerous."  
  
He hung up the phone after the Supervisor repeated the information back to him. He turned and headed off to Bosco and Faith's room before heading back to the precinct.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... Well? How's it going? 


	23. Chapter 23

Hit and Run  
Chapter 23  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sully and Davis were driving, looking around for the maroon Explorer of Dr. Jamison. They had made arrangements to meet up with Carlos and Alex for dinner. Doc was joining them also after his physical therapy.  
  
They pulled up outside of the diner where they were all meeting and sat for a few minutes waiting for 55-3 and Doc to get there.   
  
Davis was looking out the window at the passing traffic. "So, where do you think this guy went?" he asked Sully.  
  
"I don't know Ty, but I hope we find him soon. He's behind the wheel of a car again and who knows if he's stupid enough to try going after us again," he said, looking in the rearview mirror.  
  
"Yeah, did anyone warn the fire department and medics that this guy is out and behind the wheel again?" Ty said, voicing his concern for Alex as he watched their rig pull up and park in front of them. Doc was coming around the corner as well and Sully and Ty got out and waited for everyone to catch up before they went into the diner.  
  
"Hey guys," said Ty to his friends. They walked inside the diner and decided on a table at the front window so they could keep an eye on the street.  
  
"So you guys heard, right?" Ty said as they all sat down and began looking at the menus that the waitress had brought over to them.  
  
"Heard what?" asked Carlos, with Doc and Alex looking on in question as well.  
  
Davis looked at Sully. The two men couldn't believe that no one had been notified about this. "Somebody sure dropped the ball there," said Ty, clearly irritated.  
  
"The ball about what?" Doc said.  
  
"This hit and run guy, Samuel Benson. He's back on the streets," answered Sully.  
  
"I wasn't aware that he was ever OFF the streets," Alex replied.   
  
"Well, apparently he was at Mercy Hospital all along as a patient. Doc, as a matter of fact, you and Carlos were the ones that brought him in there," explained Sully as Doc and Carlos got a surprised look on their faces.  
  
"WHAT?!?" Carlos and Doc said at the same time.  
  
"Yeah, that guy you brought in shortly after Faith and Bosco got hit. The homeless guy with..." Davis started, but was interrupted by Doc.  
  
"With the metal in his leg," Doc finished Ty's sentence, looking at Carlos.  
  
Carlos got a surprised look on his face, "That's the same guy?!"  
  
"Jamison was asking me about that guy the other day. He said that there was something about him, but he couldn't quite figure it out," Doc finished looking at his friends.  
  
"Well, apparently he figured it out. Because he called Swersky and told him about it. The guy escaped from the hospital before we could get it locked down and now Jamison and his truck are missing," Sully explained.  
  
"Oh no!" said Alex. "You don't think he did something to him, do you?" she finished with concern.  
  
"I don't know, but I wouldn't put it past him. No one has found him yet, but his parking card was found in the lot and his truck is missing. They went to his house and checked with his wife. She hasn't seen or heard from him since he left for work this morning," Sully replied.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Mister! Can you hear me?" Jamie Jamison heard from far away. "Mister! Mikey, go get Mom," he heard someone saying.  
  
He tried to open his eyes, but it hurt too much. He groaned and the young boy jumped back letting a yelp escape.  
  
Jamie reached up to the side of his head where it still rested against the rock he had fallen on. He pulled his hand away and felt the stickiness of the drying blood. He again tried to open his eyes and this time was able to open them slightly. He took a moment to focus and gradually the form of a young boy cam into view.  
  
"Where am I?" he whispered, not wanting to bring anymore pain to his head.  
  
"You're laying in a ditch and your bleeding Mister," replied the boy. The doctor held up his hand to the boy, "Yeah, I know, thanks," he said.  
  
"No, that's nothing compared to your side," the boy said. "Mikey went to get my Mom," he said.  
  
Suddenly Jamie remembered that he'd been stabbed by Benson and reached down to feel his side, bringing his hand away with a considerable amount of fresh blood which meant that he was still bleeding. He tried to sit up, but felt the dizziness come on him.  
  
"What time is it?" he asked his new friend.   
  
"I don't know, dinner time I think," the boy replied. "Here comes my Mom," he announced  
  
"Jeffrey Matthews, what are you doing?" came the voice filled with worry and anger.  
  
"Mom, me and Mikey were coming home for dinner and saw this guy laying here. He's hurt Mom. You gotta help him," he pleaded.  
  
Without a moment's hesitation, the woman immediately put herself between her sons and this stranger. She cautiously approached the man.  
  
"Mister? What happened to you? How did you get here?" she asked him, at the same time pushing her sons further behind her to safety. She had no idea who this was or how he got into this condition. He could have been a drug dealer or something worse and she wasn't about to put her kids in danger.  
  
Dr. Jamison slowly opened his eyes again and attempted to focus in the direction of the voice. "My name is Dr. Jamie Jamison. I'm a doctor at Mercy Hospital. I was kidnapped by a patient and he stabbed me and dumped me here before taking my truck," he explained painfully slowly.  
  
"How do I know you're telling me the truth? How do I know I should help you?" she asked nervously.  
  
He reached inside his jacket pocket and felt that his wallet was still there. He slowly pulled it out, it's cover now stained with his blood. He held it out toward the woman. "Please, I'm not lying," he pleaded, and then suddenly remembered and felt for and found his cell phone in his other pocket. He removed the phone from his pocket and handed it over to the woman because he knew that he wouldn't be able to see to dial let alone dial it. "Please call   
9-1-1 and call for an ambulance."  
  
The woman straightened up and opened the phone. She dialed 9-1-1 and hit the "send" button and waited for the sound of the operator.  
  
"9-1-1. What is your emergency?" came the voice from the other end.   
  
"I am on the side of the road outside 427 Apple Grove Road. There's an injured man here that needs an ambulance. He's been stabbed," she said nervously.   
  
Jamison could tell that the operator was asking questions pertinent to his current condition to relay to the medics who would respond. He held out his hand for the phone. "Please, let me talk to them," he said, feeling steadily weaker. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to stay conscious and wanted to let the police know that Benson had his truck and was on the run.  
The woman told the operator to hold on and handed him the phone.  
  
"My name is Dr. Jamie Jamison. I'm a doctor at Mercy Hospital. Please contact Lieutenant Swersky from the 55th Precinct. Tell him where I am and that Samuel Benson has my truck," he said, dropping the phone as he passed out.   
  
The woman picked up the phone. "He passed out again. You better hurry. He really doesn't look very good."  
  
"Ma'am, please just stay there with him and tell me if he's still breathing. We have medics on the way and they should be there very soon," said the 9-1-1 operator.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lieutenant Swersky was in his office, going over the present operations and progress in attempts to locate Dr. Jamison and Samuel Benson when his phone rang. He picked it up and abruptly said, "Swersky."  
  
The Desk Sergeant said, "I have a 9-1-1 operator on the phone that you should really talk to, Lieu. I'll put her through to you."  
  
He heard the click of the phone call being connected and said, "This is Lieutenant Swersky. How can I help you?"  
  
"Sir, I have a woman on the line who is with a Dr. Jamie Jamison. He's been stabbed and is laying on the side of the road outside of 427 Apple Grove Road. We have medics and police already in route and I spoke with the doctor before he passed out. He said I should contact you and tell you that Samuel Benson has his truck and that he is on the run, Sir," finished the operator.  
  
"Thank you. Tell the medics I want him transported to Mercy Hospital and I'll meet them there," he said, hanging up the phone and grabbing his jacket as he ran out of his office. He slowed at the Desk Sergeant's desk to tell him where he was going, but was interrupted. "Your driver has been briefed and is waiting out front for you, Sir." He nodded his thanks and headed out the door.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The officers and medics were just getting their meals. Carlos had just left to grab his wallet out of the glove box of the bus when a look of panic came across Doc's face. Sully noticed it first. "Doc? Are you okay?" he asked him.  
  
Doc quickly shook his head and pointed out the window. "Benson!" he yelled as he jumped up. All four of them looked out the front window to see a maroon Ford Explorer bearing down on the ambulance and not slowing down. They all yelled Carlos' name at the same time, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hear them outside. Carlos closed the door to the ambulance and happened to look up at the same time that the speeding truck was upon the ambulance.  
  
Sully was the first to realize the danger to the patrons of the diner because of the angle the truck was coming from. He yelled for everyone to get to the back of the diner and hit the floor. He was afraid that the truck would crash into the ambulance and both vehicles would then crash into the front of the diner. Doc, Sully, Ty and Alex all ran to the back, herding the patrons along before them. They were about half way to the back of the diner when they heard the terrible sound of metal crashing into metal and glass shattering. A terrible rumble followed as the two vehicles crashed through the window of the diner where they had just been sitting. Even though it only took moments, it felt like an hour before the flying glass and metal finally came to rest. Sully and Davis stood up and took stock of whether they were injured. Realizing they were fine they looked to find their friends. Alex and Doc were okay and starting to disentangle themselves from other patrons. It appeared that everyone in the diner was unhurt. The four immediately ran for the door to check on Carlos.   
"How could he have survived this," they all thought to themselves as they exited the diner.  
  
"Carlos!" yelled Doc loudly, looking around for him. "Carlos!" he yelled again, a little more panic in his voice.  
  
As Sully grabbed his radio to transmit what had just happened, Davis ran toward the maroon Explorer, gun drawn. What he saw there made his blood run cold. He was staring into the face of the hit and run driver. The man was staring back at him, no expression on his face. He'd been thrown through the windshield of the truck, the glass slicing him to ribbons on his way through. He was laying across the hood of the truck, his legs and feet still inside the cab of the truck. Ty reached over and felt for a pulse and found none. He felt no sympathy for the man, just relief that it was finally over as he watched the man's blood run down the hood of the truck and drip onto the ground. Then he remembered Carlos and quickly turned toward Sully.   
  
At the same time as Sully was about to speak into the microphone the officers heard, "All units, missing physician from Mercy Hospital has been located. He confirms that the hit and run subject, Samuel Benson, is driving the 2001 Ford Explorer, color maroon, license plate New York Adam-Victor-Boy 2-8-2-1. Repeating, be on the lookout for wanted hit and run driver, Samuel Benson, in maroon 2001 Ford Explorer, license plate New York Adam-Victor-Boy 2-8-2-1."  
  
Ty keyed his microphone and without emotion stated, "Central. Be advised that suspect hit and run driver just ran the vehicle in question into multiple emergency vehicles and a diner at Arthur and 19th. Dispatch police, fire and EMS to the scene. Also, advise the Lieutenant that the suspect, Samuel Benson, is deceased at this scene. We have one medic missing in the crash."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC. Hope you liked that one. I'm working on the next. 


	24. Chapter 24

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 24  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lieutenant Swersky and two other sector cars had arrived at Mercy Hospital about the same time as the ambulance with Dr. Jamison inside. There was a flurry of activity going on in the Emergency Room as the team awaited the arrival of one of their own. Luckily, it had been a fairly calm night in the Emergency Room with only some minor traffic accidents and one small gang fight.  
  
The trauma room had been cleared and the staff listened at the telemetry radio as the paramedics gave their report. "Mercy, Boy 55-7 is in route to your location with a victim of a stab wound and head injury. We have bleeding controlled at this time, however the stab wound is quite deep and may have affected some of the internal organs. Patient is not conscious at this time, however, witnesses report that he was conscious and able to communicate until just before our arrival. Vital signs are as follows - pulse 60; respirations 18; BP 90/60. We have the patient immobilized on a long board with cervical collar. Two large bore IVs are running and we have the patient on oxygen - 12 liters per minute by non-rebreather mask. We are approximately five minutes out from your location."  
  
With the information that they had, the staff sprang into action and prepared for his arrival. Dr. Jamison was swarmed by medical personnel, all with a job do to, upon his arrival.  
  
Lieutenant Swersky was standing at the nurse's station awaiting word from the doctors treating Dr. Jamison. He wanted to know when and if the doctor was conscious so he could talk to him. After speaking with the paramedics he had found out that the witnesses at the scene had only been told that he was a doctor here and that he was kidnapped by one of his patients. The police units that had responded to Dr. Jamison's location confirmed the information that was given to the 9-1-1 operator by Dr. Jamison. No witness to the attack was located so they had no idea which direction Benson had fled in.  
  
The doctors eventually came out to talk to Lt. Swersky and he was told that although Dr. Jamison was expected to recover, he was on his way to surgery and was still unconscious. The Lieutenant left a detective waiting at the hospital for when Jamison woke up and told the detective and doctors that he would be at the station if anything came to light.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The crew at Camelot was just finishing up dinner. D.K. was putting some food on dishes for Carlos and Alex in case they wanted some when they got back to the station. He knew that they were probably meeting up with Davis and Sullivan but he always put food aside for anyone that was out of the station just in case.  
  
"You're such a mother," cracked Billy as he walked by D.K. "Yeah, well you always have a hot meal when you get back from a run, right?" D.K. answered back.  
  
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" questioned Billy, not understanding what D.K. was getting at.  
  
"That means that you get what you give. The only reason that the medics put food aside for us is because 'we' do it for them - at least I do it for them," he explained.  
  
"Thank you, Mother," replied Billy as he went out into the TV room to watch the game.  
  
Just as everyone was settled in for a night of football, the alarm went off. "Engine 57, Engine 59 and Battalion 5. Boy 55-7 and 55-9 - respond to Arthur and 19th for a vehicle into a structure with injuries. P.D. is on scene," came the voice of the dispatcher over the radio.  
  
Just as D.K. was wondering why they hadn't just sent Carlos and Alex to the call, the Captain came out of his office with a pale look on his face. As the crew was boarding the engine, the Captain said, "I was in the office and I heard this job over the police scanner. Sounded like Davis. The hit and run driver crashed into the diner where Davis, Sully, Alex and Carlos were eating. He's dead and it sounds like one of the medics is missing. Let's mount up," he said, jumping into the front of the truck.   
  
The crew rode in silence the short distance to the scene and found a flurry of activity with civilians and police upon their arrival.  
  
The Captain went and found Sully who was the senior man on scene at present for information.  
  
"Sully, what've we got?" he asked as he took in the shaken appearance of Officer John Sullivan. "Are you hurt?" he said, looking the officer over for signs of injury.  
  
"What? No. We're fine. But Nieto is missing in this mess somewhere. I don't know if there were any civilians on the street at the time, but Carlos was right alongside the bus when that maniac crashed into it and pushed it into the diner," explained Sully.  
  
The fire department went about their task of performing a preliminary check for obvious signs of danger, such as leaking gas or other hazards, and shoring up any vehicles or debris that looked as if it could shift during a rescue attempt. Engine 59 pulled in from the opposite end of the scene and assumed the task of having the power and gas cut off to the building.  
  
D.K. and Walsh came across Alex and Doc treating patients. So far, there were no life-threatening injuries aside from the obvious DOA lying across the hood of the crumpled Ford Explorer. The body of Benson was covered with a yellow emergency blanket.   
  
"Alex, Doc. Are you guys okay?" they asked as they looked over their two friends. There were only minor cuts from the flying glass and debris.  
  
"Yeah. We're fine. But, Carlos is missing, D.K.," Alex notified.  
  
"We'll find him," said Billy with a positive tone in his voice. "Where did you see him last?"  
  
"Um, he was outside on the sidewalk next to the bus. The car ran into the bus and police car and pushed them into the diner. I don't know how he could've gotten out of the way in time," informed Doc, getting more worried by the minute.  
  
"We'll get him, Doc," Billy said again as he and D.K. went off to look for Carlos.  
  
"What a mess," D.K. said under his breath as they began searching.  
  
"Carlos! Can you hear me?" called Lombardo as he walked among the wreckage. He thought he heard a sound and signaled for all rescue operations to stop so he could hear better. In a moment it was silent and he again yelled, "Carlos! Call out to me. Let me know where you are."  
  
A slight tapping sound was heard in the area in front of the diner. A crew was sent into the area to make sure that the debris was stable and not about to shift and trap Carlos further.  
  
"We're coming Neito. Hold on!" Lombardo yelled to Carlos.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Carlos heard the faint reply from Lombardo and felt a small sense of relief come over him. "At least they know where I am," he thought to himself. "Now, let's hope they can get to me," he finished.   
  
He could hardly move because the debris had him pinned pretty tightly. He had some pain in his lower back and had some numbness to his lower legs. He kept telling himself that it was only because there was something heavy on his legs. He didn't want to think it could be any worse.  
  
He thought back to the sudden realization that he had when he closed the door to the bus after retrieving his wallet. He heard the muffled sound of his friends inside the diner at the same time he heard the revving of the engine of something getting closer. He looked through the windows of the bus and saw the oncoming truck. But, it was too late. He couldn't get out of the way in time.   
As the truck crashed into the police car and the ambulance he saw both vehicles coming his way, ready to pin him against the building. He had to think fast. He looked at the pavement behind him to see if there was a ledge he could hide under for some sort of protection. As he had his hands on the ambulance he felt the impact start to move him toward the building. At the last moment he saw a window at the level of the sidewalk - a basement window to the building. He knew that if he didn't try something he'd be dead for sure. He shifted his body lower and hoped for the best.  
  
When he awoke - he had no idea how long he'd been knocked out for - he looked around at his surroundings. "Well, apparently I'm not dead, because I don't think Heaven would look this bad and I don't think Hell would look this good," he said to himself.   
  
Now, here he was waiting for the guys to get him out of his predicament. He knew they'd never give up - no matter how hopeless it looked. He'd just have to wait it out and hope for the best result.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jimmy and Kim were sitting in her room watching TV. He had just returned from getting her a large chocolate shake from the coffee shop. There was a police officer posted outside her room in the event that Benson tried to come back to finish the job.  
  
They heard some chatter come over the officer's radio, but he had the volume low so as not to disturb any of the other patients on the floor. Suddenly, they saw him in the doorway.   
  
"I've been ordered to a call. Benson is dead so you should be fine," he advised them as he prepared to leave.  
  
"What? How?" asked Jimmy, voicing Kim's questions for her.  
  
"Apparently, he ran his car into a diner at Arthur and 19th. There were police and medics inside and one's missing," he said. "Sorry. Wish I could tell you more," he said as he turned to leave.  
  
Jimmy stood up, looking down at Kim, not really knowing what he should do. He wanted to stay with Kim, but he also wanted to go help with the rescue attempts. Kim read his mind and with a look and a wave of her hand, she had told him to go and do his job. He leaned over and gave her a kiss and she managed to get "be careful," out between her teeth.  
  
"You know it," he said as he dashed out the door. He wanted to catch up with the officer to catch a ride to the scene.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bosco and Faith were watching TV as well. Faith was in a chair next to Bosco's bed. They had a long talk and were both taking in what they had each discussed. They had decided that it was a given that they wanted to be together and Bosco had asked Faith to marry him. She had agreed without hesitation, but they had decided to wait and break the news to the kids before discussing it with anyone else.  
  
Suddenly, McMahon, who had been stationed outside of their door stood up and came into the room.  
  
"What?" asked Faith, knowing that something was happening just by the look on his face.  
  
"Benson's dead. He crashed a car into a diner where medics and police were eating. I don't know who, but one's missing. They're calling all available units and I've been called," he said as he turned and left.  
  
"Holy Shit," Bosco replied. "I wonder who it is?" Faith just shrugged and held Bosco's hand tighter. "At least I know its not you," she said, bringing his hand up to her and kissing it.  
  
"Yeah, for a change," Bosco said quietly as they turned to a breaking news station on the television.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lieutenant Swersky had just left the hospital when Davis' call came over the radio. He immediately had his driver turn around and head over to the location of the call.  
  
"Now who?" he questioned out loud, not sure whether he could stand another person being taken out by this madman.   
  
They arrived on the scene just after the fire department and he sought out Sully to get the details. He found him searching in the rubble and pulled him aside.  
  
"Who is it?" he asked Sully, who was covered in bits and pieces of dust and debris from digging.  
  
"One of the medics - Carlos Nieto - was outside on the sidewalk when Benson crashed into the vehicles. We heard him in the middle of the pile, but we haven't been able to locate him yet. Other than that, no major injuries aside from the death of Benson," he said, motioning over toward the yellow blanket.  
  
"Good. Make sure you and Davis get yourselves checked out," the Lieutenant said as he left to coordinate the police side of the incident.  
  
Sully went back to digging alongside Davis.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	25. Chapter 25

Hit and Run  
  
Chapter 25  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jimmy had talked the patrol officer into stopping by the firehouse to pick up his gear. It was on the way so he didn't give him too much trouble over it. Jimmy got out of the RMP and headed over to where the most activity was apparent.  
  
"Captain, where do you want me?" Jimmy asked his boss as he finished donning his gear.  
  
"Jimmy! Glad you're here," said the Captain. "Nieto is trapped under this pile of debris. It's slow going because we have to keep shoring it up as we go. We're waiting for schematics from the owner of the building. He was making noise earlier, but we haven't heard from him in a while. We don't know how badly he's injured. Go relieve Lombardo and Tommy," he ordered Jimmy.  
  
Jimmy headed over to where Lombardo and Tommy were working. He passed Sully and Davis along the way who were pulled from the digging by the Captain because they didn't have the proper gear. It wasn't easy getting them away from the pile, but now they were standing by the wreckage, watching and waiting.  
  
"Sully, Davis. You guys okay?" Jimmy asked, taking in their appearance.  
  
"Yeah. Just scrapes and bruises. Get in there," Davis said, waving off his friend's concern.  
  
"I'm on it," Jimmy said as he walked away. He walked up to Lombardo and Tommy just as D.K. saw that he was there. D.K. came over to partner up with Jimmy since Billy was pulled from the work after he sustained a nasty gash on his arm. He was sent off to Mercy for stitches, but knowing Billy, he'd be back and ready to get to work again.   
  
"Good to see you, Brother," D.K. said, coming up behind Jimmy. Jimmy smiled and slapped D.K. on the back and they went to work.  
  
"Where exactly did Lombardo hear Nieto?" asked Jimmy.  
  
"Right about there somewhere," advised D.K., indicating an area near the middle of the wreckage.  
  
Jimmy thought for a moment and suddenly grinned, remembering the window that was around that area somewhere. He hoped that Nieto had found it and managed to get pushed through it and not crushed between the building and the vehicles. "C'mon," he said to D.K., pulling on his arm and heading in the direction of the rear of the building.  
  
"Where're we going," D.K. asked him.  
  
"I think I know a way to get to him," said Jimmy as he notified the Captain via his portable that he and D.K. were heading around back.  
  
D.K. followed Jimmy and they entered the building through the rear entrance. Instead of walking straight ahead to the dining area, Jimmy pried open a door and shone his flashlight down the stairs. There were a lot of dust particles floating in the flashlight beam, but the support at the rear of the building looked unscathed.  
  
"I found this room about two years ago when I was dating that waitress, Sheila," Jimmy informed his friend after seeing the confused look on his face. D.K. made a face and Jimmy replied, "What? She was on a break," Jimmy said, making excuses.  
  
"Whatever, man," D.K. replied as he followed Jimmy to the basement. They made their way to the front of the diner, running into more debris as they progressed.   
  
"Carlos! Can you hear me?" called Jimmy. There was no response. They worked to get a little closer and Jimmy called out for Carlos again. This time they heard a faint moan.   
  
D.K. keyed his radio and advised all units to hold up rescue while they attempted to locate Carlos from below.  
  
"10-4," replied the Captain. "Additional manpower is being sent around to you. Keep me apprised," he ordered.  
  
"Carlos! If you can hear me, we're almost there. Hang on!" D.K. shouted out to him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Carlos heard the sounds of someone coming from a different direction - somewhere behind him. He was having a hard time staying awake. He could feel the slow trickle of blood run down his scalp. He noticed it more because the numbness he was feeling in his lower legs was completely gone. He didn't even feel them anymore. He was having a more difficult time breathing and he was fighting as hard as he could not to go into shock, but he could feel himself losing the battle. Gradually, as the digging and voices got closer - "Is that D.K.?" he thought to himself - they soon faded as did the small amount of light that he had as he drifted off into unconsciousness.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alex and Doc had brought the gear around to the back of the building to wait for Jimmy and D.K. to bring Carlos out. They had left the treatment of the minor injuries to the other arriving EMS units. There was no way that anyone but them was going to treat Carlos.  
  
"How long's it been?" Alex asked Doc.  
  
"Coming up on too long," he said, concern evident in his voice. "I just wish we knew what kind of injuries we're dealing with for sure. We know there's going to be cuts and bruises, possibly some fractures, but I'm worried about head injuries and spinal injuries," he said.  
  
"Jimmy and D.K. know to keep him as immobile as possible," assured Alex.  
  
Doc nodded and he felt Sully and Davis walk up behind him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Back at Mercy, the nurse came out to the detective waiting outside of Dr. Jamison's room in the ICU.  
  
"Detective, Dr. Jamison is coming around a little. You may want to wait by his bedside because I'm not sure how long he'll stay conscious," she informed him.  
  
He nodded his thanks, stood up, threw away his empty coffee cup and tucked his newspaper under his arm. He walked into the quiet room and over to the side of the bed.   
  
"Dr. Jamison? Can you hear me, Sir?" asked the detective quietly.  
  
Dr. Jamison stirred slightly and opened his eyes trying to focus in the direction of the voice.  
  
"Doctor. I'm Detective Stewart from the 5-5. Do you feel up to trying to answer some questions?" asked the detective.  
  
Dr. Jamison tried to speak, but his throat was too dry. The nurse noticed and came to his side to offer him some ice chips. After a moment, Dr. Jamison looked over at the detective and wearily nodded.  
  
"Dr. Jamison. First of all, let me tell you that Samuel Benson is dead and you are in no further danger from him," the detective said, noticing the doctor relax slightly.  
  
"I just need to ask you a few questions about when he abducted you. Did he say anything to you? Like, what his reasons were for his actions? What his plans were?" questioned the detectives.  
  
"What happened to him?" Dr. Jamison asked. The detective didn't know exactly what he should be telling the doctor. He didn't want to upset him or make matters worse. He paused for a moment.  
  
"Detective. I want to know what happened to Benson. I think I deserve to know. I'm glad he's dead, I just hope he didn't take anyone else with him," Dr. Jamison said, running out of breath as he spoke.  
  
The nurse stepped forward poised to halt the detective's questions if her patient became any more agitated. Jamie Jamison held up his hand to the nurse indicating that he was okay and wanted to continue. She took a step back, but was ready to step in again if needed.  
  
"Doctor. Mr. Benson drove your truck into a parked ambulance and police car outside of a diner on Arthur and 19th. Benson died in the collision, which pushed the vehicles into the diner. There were no major injuries inside the diner. The only injury was to a paramedic that happened to be alongside the ambulance when the crash took place," explained the detective as calmly as he could.  
  
"How bad?" asked Jamison  
  
"Excuse me, Sir?" asked the detective.  
  
"How bad was the medic hurt?" Jamison insisted.  
  
"We, uh, don't know yet, Doctor. He hasn't been located yet," the detective informed him.  
  
Jamison let out a long sigh, sorry that yet another person was hurt by this maniac. He looked back at the detective and said, "He said that he blames the police, fire and medics for his family's death. Apparently, there was a car accident on a rain-slicked road. They went over the bridge and ended up in the river. The current was very strong and the police, fire and medics couldn't get to his wife and daughter in time. He was the only one to survive and blames everyone but himself," Dr. Jamison finished, totally exhausted.  
  
"I'm sorry, Detective, but I'm afraid that's all I can allow right now," said the nurse, stepping forward to check on the doctor's condition.  
  
The detective nodded, said thank you to Doctor Jamison who had already drifted back off, and left.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Faith and Bosco were watching the television trying to get any news updates to the breaking news story.  
  
Bosco's mother walked into the room. She'd heard what was happening on the news and wanted to make sure that Bosco was okay.  
  
"Hey Ma," Bosco said, watching the pictures from the scene to see if he could figure out who was "missing."  
  
"Maurice. How are you feeling today?" she asked him as she walked up and absently felt his forehead for fever. "Faith. How are you feeling. You look much better today," said Angela. Faith smiled and said hello. They hadn't yet told Bosco's mother of their plans to marry.  
  
"I'm okay, Ma. Hey, have you heard anything about what's going on at that diner," Bosco said, pointing at the television. "I'm trying to figure out who's missing," he finished.  
  
"I already have Mikey on it," she said to Bosco. "I sent him down there and he's supposed to call me on my cell phone," she said, looking at her phone to make sure that it was turned on and had a strong signal.  
  
"Hey, you're okay, Ma," said Bosco smiling.  
  
"Well, you're certainly in a good mood today," Angela said teasingly.  
  
"Yeah, well. Sit down 'cause I - I mean we - want to talk to you about something," said Bosco with a big grin.  
  
He reached over and took Faith's hand as his mother settled into a chair. "What's up?" she asked. "Is everything okay - you're not sicker are you?" she said, suddenly worried.  
  
"No, no. Nothing like that. It's good news for a change!" he said. He saw his mother take a breath and relax. He decided the best way was to just say it.  
  
"Ma. You know how you said you've always wanted to be a grandmother," Bosco said to her. He saw his mother visibly shudder at the word 'grandmother.'  
  
"Yes, Maurice. But I will NOT be called 'grandma,'" she said emphatically. Suddenly, she stopped and looked at her son in shock. "Oh my God, who'd he get pregnant," she thought to herself. She looked over at Faith and saw that she wasn't upset, so it couldn't have been anything like that.  
  
"Well, Faith and I have talked it over and decided that we'd like to get married. So, Emily and Charlie will be your step grandchildren," said Bosco, hoping his mother would be pleased. He squeezed Faith's hand tighter as he fought to retain the smile on his face. He couldn't read his mother's reaction and was waiting for her to say something.  
  
"Ma?" he prodded. "Say something," he said.  
  
Angela stood up abruptly and came around to where Faith was sitting next to Bosco's bed. "I'm so happy!" she exclaimed. "I was wondering when you were going to get your head out of your - well you know - and ask Faith to marry you! You know, Faith, I've known he's loved you for a long time now. I've been praying for this day. And now I'll have grandchildren to spoil - and no potty training either!" she exclaimed as they all started to laugh.  
  
They were interrupted by the sound of Angela's cell phone ringing. "Hello? Oh, hi Mikey, honey. What did you find out? Your brother's very anxious to find out," she said. She was looking at Bosco while listening to what Mikey was saying. "Okay, thanks. Keep us posted. Bye," she said, hanging up the phone.  
  
She put her phone in her coat pocket and looked at Bosco and Faith. "Apparently, this Benson guy rammed this Dr. Jamison's truck into the ambulance and police car that was parked in front of the diner. Alex Taylor, Doc Parker, John Sullivan, and Ty Davis were inside having dinner. The vehicles were pushed into the diner and Benson was thrown out of the truck and killed during the accident," she said.  
  
"So, who's hurt?" asked Faith and Bosco in unison.  
  
"Oh, right. Apparently everyone in the diner was fine. There were only a few minor cuts and stuff. But, this Carlos was outside on the sidewalk next to the ambulance when it was hit. He's stuck in the rubble somewhere and they're trying to get him out," she said. Bosco and Faith were processing the information when Angela suddenly added.  
  
"Oh and Dr. Jamison is down the hall, recovering from surgery from a stab wound from Benson. Apparently, Benson took Jamison's truck after he stabbed him and left him for dead. They're saying something about this Benson character blaming the fire department, police and medics for the deaths of his family in a car accident a while ago," she finally finished.  
  
"Hmmm," Bosco and Faith said looking at each other. "I hope Carlos is okay," said Faith.  
  
"Yeah," said Bosco.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	26. Chapter 26

Hit and Run  
Chapter 26  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jimmy and D.K. continued to work their way toward Carlos. There had been no form of communication from the medic for the last hour. Suddenly, Jimmy could see the top of Carlos' head and he called back to D.K., "I see him. We're almost there. I need the tools in here and some air bags."  
  
"Hang on Carlos. I've got you," Jimmy said as he reached out and touched Carlos' shoulder. If he couldn't hear him then maybe he could feel that someone was there.  
  
Word spread to the outside of the demolished diner that Jimmy had reached Carlos. Doc and Alex immediately took a few steps toward the doorway. Doc called out to D.K. who had just got done telling Billy what they needed from the truck. Billy had finished getting his arm stitched up and, as expected, had returned to the scene to continue in the search.   
  
"D.K.! How is he? Can you find out how he is?" called Doc.  
  
D.K. just shook his head no and said, "We can see the top of his head, but we can't get to him yet. We're almost there." D.K. knew that minutes counted and he turned to return and help Jimmy.  
  
"How much further?" D.K. asked Jimmy as he approached him.   
  
"Just a couple of more feet," answered Jimmy. "I got my hand along side his neck and I felt a pulse. It's weak, but it's there. Tell Doc and Alex to get a stretcher down here. I think if I can just move this beam without shifting anything we should have a clear shot at sliding him out," Jimmy told D.K.  
  
D.K. sent Billy back out to have Doc bring in the backboard and stretcher. As Doc and Alex approached with just a backboard because the stretcher wouldn't fit amongst the debris, Jimmy finished shoring up the area around the beam he needed to move.   
  
"Jimmy, see if you can get this collar around his neck before you start to move him," said Doc, handing the cervical collar to him. Jimmy took the collar and crawled back toward Carlos. He secured the collar and then began using the airbags to gently lift the beam. After a few moments of loud creaks and falling dust particles, there was enough room to slide Carlos out.   
  
As carefully as possible, Jimmy, D.K. and Billy slowly pulled Carlos free. The kept him as immobile as possible to avoid any further injuries to his spine and slid him onto the waiting backboard being held by Doc and Alex. The additional weight of Carlos on the backboard made Doc wince in pain as it pulled on the injured joint of his shoulder.  
  
Sully and Ty, who had managed to get inside behind Doc and Alex saw the look of pain cross over Doc's face. Sully touched him gently on the back and said, "We got him," as Ty and Sully each grabbed a side of the backboard to relieve Doc.  
  
"I'll go set up outside," said Doc as he turned to prepare to treat Carlos when they brought him to the ambulance.  
  
Doc was in the ambulance setting up IVs and oxygen and getting an open channel to the doctor at Mercy when a roar of cheers sounded. He looked over to see Sully, Ty, D.K. and Alex walking toward him with the backboard bearing an unconscious Carlos.  
  
As they placed Carlos onto the stretcher in the ambulance and Alex jumped in to help Doc, Ty said, "I'll drive. Just let me know when you're ready to take off." Doc nodded and then they all turned back toward the diner when they heard Jimmy's voice over the portable clipped to D.K.'s turnout coat.  
  
"D.K., Walsh. I need you back down here. This airbag gave way and the beam came down. I can't get out," came Jimmy's voice calmly over the radio.  
  
"We're on the way," replied D.K. into the radio as both he and Billy joined the ranks of their brother firefighters to get to Jimmy. After a few moments, Jimmy emerged from the debris, unscathed; each of the firefighters slapping each other on the back in thanks.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Doc and Alex got Carlos stabilized at the scene and had just got done bringing him into the trauma room. Davis had parked the ambulance outside and met up with Sully who had followed them in with the RMP. The two officers walked into the ER and looked around for Doc and Alex. They found them standing outside of the trauma room looking through the window.  
  
"How is he?" asked Sully as they joined the two medics.  
  
"We're not sure. He's still unconscious. There's definitely a head wound, but I don't know how bad it is. He has some neuro deficit to his legs and we found a wound to his lower back near the spine. Hopefully, it's nothing permanent. That's all we know for right now," said Doc as he watched his partner lying on the stretcher being worked on by the ER staff.  
  
Another ambulance came through the ER doors and the medics and officers turned to see the body of Samuel Benson, covered with a blanket, being wheeled into the ER. A doctor came over to the gurney in the hallway and checked on the man. The doctor pronounced the man dead and the medics were instructed to bring the body straight to the hospital morgue.  
  
"Good riddens," Alex replied with disgust in her voice. Doc put a hand on her back. "Amen to that," he said quietly.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It had been about 2 hours since Jimmy had left with the police officer and Kim was anxiously awaiting word on the rescue efforts. She looked up and saw a dusty and scraped Jimmy standing in the doorway.  
  
"Jimmy. Are you okay?" she said through her teeth. He nodded and walked over to the bed and bent over to kiss her. "Carlos is in the ER. He's pretty banged up, but I think he's gonna make it. He's got a concussion and he's in and out right now. He has an injury to his spinal cord, but they did a CT of the spine and think that it's just a bad bruise and that he'll recover," he finished, sitting down heavily in the chair, exhausted.  
  
"Thanks Jimmy," Kim said.   
  
"For what?" Jimmy asked, a puzzled expression on his face.  
  
"For getting Carlos out," she wrote on her board.  
  
"I just helped. It's no big thing," he said, shrugging.  
  
Kim nodded her head and smiled as Kim's mother brought Joey into the room.  
  
"Mom! Dad!" he yelled with delight as he jumped onto Jimmy's lap without warning. Jimmy let out a loud groan and everyone laughed.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lieutenant Swersky was in the room with Bosco and Faith. He'd filled them in on everything that had happened, including the reason that Benson went on his rampage. He'd had his clerk research it and found out that it just so happened that all of those police officers and medics that were injured or killed during Benson's attacks happened to be working the night his wife and daughter died in the accident.  
  
"I remember that one," Bosco said solemnly. It was pouring that night and the river was really swollen. The current was so strong that no one could get to them in time. I'll never forget the screams from that little girl as the water rose and took her. Benson had been put in the ambulance but I know he must have heard her screams. That'd be enough to drive me over the edge too," Bosco finished. Faith gave his hand a gentle squeeze.  
  
The Lieutenant noticed and said, "So, I hear there's some happy news from all this. Congratulations Faith, Bosco. It's been a long time coming," he said as he turned and walked out of their room.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Doc, Alex, Sully and Ty were outside of Carlos' room waiting for him to wake up. He'd been in and out due to the concussion and hadn't yet heard the results from his CT scan of his spine.  
  
Doc had just returned from checking on Dr. Jamison and informed Alex, Ty and Sully that he was making a good recovery and would be back to work in no time.  
  
The nurse peeked out and advised Doc that he was coming around again. Doc stood up and walked into the room. Carlos opened his eyes, sensing someone's presence and looked up to see Doc standing above him.  
  
"Hey," he said groggily.  
  
"Hey yourself. You're one lucky son of a bitch," Doc said with a smile. "The CT of your spine shows it's just a bruise. You should make a complete recovery and be back driving me craze in no time," he said to his friend.  
  
"Looking forward to it," said Carlos, drifting off to sleep again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alex, Sully and Ty were sitting outside of Carlos' room. Alex and Ty were leaning against each other and Sully sensed that they wanted to be alone. Ty had Sully pull the RMP over the other day and ran into a store and he knew what Ty wanted to do.   
  
"Well, I'm gonna go grab a cup of coffee," he said. "Anyone want some?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks, Sul," said Alex and Ty in unison.  
  
"Okay, I'll be back in a little while. Pretty quiet around here," he said looking at Ty and tapping Ty's shirt pocket. Ty knew what he was hinting at and looked at the floor in embarrassment.  
  
Sully walked down the hallway, leaving Alex and Ty sitting in the deserted hallway.  
  
"What was that all about?" asked Alex, as she watched Sully round the corner and looked at Ty.  
  
"Well. I've been thinking a lot these past few days. What with everything happening and seeing how quickly things can change," Ty began. He reached into his pocket and removed a small, velvet-covered box. He slid off the edge of his chair and went down onto one knee. He took Alex's hands and looked at her face. She got a confused look on her face momentarily and then realized what was about to happen.  
  
Sully peeked out from around the corner quietly, making sure not to disturb them.  
  
"Alex. There's one thing that I don't want to change. And that's me being able to be with you always. I love you, Alex. Will you marry me?" asked Ty as he opened the small box to reveal a beautiful engagement ring.  
  
Alex took a deep breath, not letting her gaze leave Ty's face. "Yes, Ty. I will marry you. I love you," she said as she leaned forward to give her fiancée a kiss. Ty placed the ring on her finger and they embraced just as Doc came out of Carlos' room.  
  
"What's up, guys?" asked Doc, noticing Ty getting off the floor and returning to his seat.  
  
Alex held up her left hand to show Doc her ring and a smile came over Doc's face as he shook Ty's hand and kissed Alex on the cheek. Sully came around the corner with a big smile and no coffee, shook hands with his partner and kissed Alex as well.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The End. 


End file.
